How should I go about talking to my child about this situation?

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andreast asks:

My daughter of three is going to see her father that she hasn't seen in over a year. I've told her about it and she's told me she's worried about it and when I asked her why, she went to tell me something but quickly stopped because her daddy (my fiance) walked in the room. Now she used to have nightmares every time she came home from his house and I could never figure out why. I'm just scared she's going to have these night terrors again and wake up screaming. Is there anyway I can ask her if anything happened without her making up a story I mean she's three so that would be common at her age?

In Topics: Communicating with my child (The tough talks), Single parent families

> 60 days ago

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Expert

ShirleyCressDudley

May 21, 2013

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What the Expert Says:

I understand your concerns. My first concern would be are you confident that visiting her father is a safe situation? If not, then she shouldn't visit until you figure that out. I would recommend play therapy with a child therapist to see what is causing your daughter's fears.

If it's just fear of the unknown, then you can help her with this. If there are any real concerns, then this need to be delt with first, and possibly arrange a supervised visitation.

I hope that helps.

Kindest Regards,

Shirley Cress Dudley
Founder and Executive Director of The Blended and Step Family Resource Center.
Author of the book, Blended Family Advice

Resources:

http://www.theblendedandstepfamilyresourcecenter.com/kidscornerforblendedfamiiles/

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