This post is sponsored by Responsibility.org as part of their <\/em>Ask, Listen, Learn<\/em><\/a> program. I’m grateful for the opportunity to partner with an organization committed to healthy choices and helping parents start conversations with kids about alcohol, two things I fully support.\u00a0All opinions, wrong answers given on game shows, and lessons learned are my own.<\/em><\/p>\n

I recently appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy! As I reflect on my experience on the classic game show, I realize that there are several similarities between it and talking with kids about alcohol.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to go in blind – there are resources to help you anticipate common questions. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeopardy! is all about the questions, and while exact questions aren\u2019t repeated, there are topics that come up with some frequency on Jeopardy! Knowing past clues helps you anticipate future ones. That\u2019s why future competitors on the show take full advantage of a website<\/a> that archives every single one asked on Jeopardy! as well as what the correct one was. (You are usually scheduled about a month out or so, giving you time to prepare.)<\/p>\n

Similarly, there are common questions that kids ask about alcohol, and Ask, Listen, Learn<\/em><\/a> offers expert advice<\/a> on the best ways to approach them in addition to facts about kid and alcohol<\/a> and suggestions for how to start the conversation yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Listening, really listening, is key.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m big on really listening before responding, especially when answering one of your child\u2019s questions. It\u2019s possible, however, that I forgot to do that on one of the questions on Jeopardy!<\/p>\n

I heard enough to know that it was about the Revolutionary War, a subject I know a bit about. I got excited and got focused on ringing in first, failing in the process to listen as closely as I should have. I missed the key \u201cfleeing the Redcoats\u201d section of the question, and gave the wrong answer. Although it was a topic I felt prepared for, that wasn\u2019t enough to get it right. I had to listen.<\/p>\n

Same goes for when you\u2019re talking with kids about alcohol. You have to know what they\u2019re asking, what information they need and how to best help \u2013 none of which you can do if you don\u2019t truly hear them.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t always come out of your mouth the way you intend \u2013 and that\u2019s okay<\/strong><\/p>\n

Early in the game, one of the responses was about a desert in China. I thought, \u201cChina shares a border with Mongolia. Mongolia has the Gobi Desert. That must be it!\u201d<\/p>\n

I confidently hit my buzzer.<\/p>\n

Then I asked, \u201cWhat is the Mongolian Desert?\u201d<\/p>\n

I. Was. Shocked.<\/p>\n

That was not<\/em> what I meant to say. Gobi. I meant Gobi. Not<\/em> Mongolian. I know there is no Mongolian Desert! That came out ALL WRONG. ARGH!<\/p>\n

And you know what happened? Not much. The game went on. I got other questions right.<\/p>\n

When it comes to talking with kids and alcohol, it\u2019s good to have a plan, but even then, what comes out of your mouth may come out differently than you plan in your head. Or the conversation may take an unexpected turn. Or you may feel like it\u2019s just not going well.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

Talking with kids is an ongoing conversation. You don\u2019t have to get it all right on the first try. Stay the course and it\u2019ll be okay.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to have all the answers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were some clues on Jeopardy! that I didn\u2019t know, so I didn\u2019t ring in, and felt, well, really not smart in those moments. I assumed that the other contestants would know. They did not. Turns out that none of the three of us playing in that game were masters of the Western Novels category.<\/p>\n

Parents don\u2019t have to have all the answers, either.<\/p>\n

It is more than okay to say, \u201cI don\u2019t know. Let\u2019s look that up together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friends support your choices.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it came to my wager in Final Jeopardy, I made the choice to play it safe with my wager.<\/p>\n

Would it have been more fun and exciting to bet it all?<\/p>\n

Probably.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just not how I roll. And my family friends not only understand that, they supported my choice. It may not be what they would have done, but they don\u2019t think any less of me.<\/p>\n

The experience was a great opportunity to talk about how real friends respect each other\u2019s choices and how important those true friendships are to me.<\/p>\n

You May Also Like: \u00a0<\/strong>Self-care for parents of teens: Expert advice and simple suggestions<\/a><\/p>\n

Prior Post:<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t miss this new Avengers: Infinity War trailer, says my daughter\u2019s teacher<\/a><\/p>\n

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This post is sponsored by Responsibility.org as part of their Ask, Listen, Learn program. I’m grateful for the opportunity to partner with an organization committed to healthy choices and helping parents start conversations with kids about alcohol, two things I fully support.\u00a0All opinions, wrong answers given on game shows, and lessons learned are my own. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8811"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8811"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8849,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8811\/revisions\/8849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}