Nurturing Intimacy with Your Kids

Intimacy is the glue that holds families together. It's what connects us over the years, and across the miles. It's what gets us through the hard times. It's the grease that smooths the rough interactions of everyday life, and the honey that makes it all worth it.

Intimacy is hard to define, but we all know when we're feeling it. Whether it's crying on your best friend's shoulder after a tragedy or snuggling in companionable silence with your partner in front of the fire, intimacy is when we feel connected.
How we humans build connections with each other, how we deepen them, and how we repair them when they fray is both as simple as a warm smile and as mysterious as the way the ground lurches when we see a picture of someone we have loved and lost.
John Gottman, one of my favorite researchers, has distilled the creating of intimate relationships down to their practical essence. It turns out that the building blocks of connection are the small overtures we make to each other every day, and the way our loved ones respond. Gottman calls these bids, as in "bids for attention." We could also call them overtures, as in opening movements.
In happy relationships, whether between romantic partners, parents and children, friends, or coworkers, bids are made and responded to warmly. It almost doesn't matter what the bid is about; the process of reaching out and receiving a response builds the relationship. It also increases the trust level so that we are more likely to reach out to that person again, and the content of the bids deepens.
If we begin with "I'm worried about XYZ" and receive an empathic response, we're likely to elaborate and maybe ask our partner for support. If, on the other hand, our comment is ignored, or greeted with anything that doesn't feel empathic, we're unlikely to make ourselves vulnerable in any way, and the relationship loses a chance to deepen. In fact, we're hurt, so a little wall gets built.
The same process is enacted with our children in hundreds of daily interactions. If we ask our middle schooler about the upcoming school dance and receive an engaged response, we might venture further and ask whether she's nervous. If, on the other hand, her response is surly, most of us will back off.
And, of course, our children often test us by saying something negative to see if we'll empathize. If we don't, they hold those feelings inside.

So How Can you Create a More Intimate Family?

1. Pay attention to the "bids" that go on in your family.

Is the usual tone responsive and warm? Distracted and ignoring? Hostile and sarcastic? Does anyone get ignored? Does anyone usually ignore others?

2. Focus on noticing your child's bids to you.

The inconvenient thing about a bid from your child is that they initiate whenever they want to, and you can count on being busy doing something else. It takes real self-discipline to tear yourself away from your screen to answer a child's question, but how you respond to his overture is crucial in building closeness. Later, when you try to get him to tell you about what happened at school today, that's your bid, and by then, he's shut down. To support yourself, make it a practice to turn off your screens when you're with your child.

3. Train yourself to respond with empathy, no matter what the comment is.

If your daughter climbs into the car after school and greets you with a negative comment like "Dad, you know I hate that music, can't we listen to my music?" or "Mom, I had a terrible day and it's all your fault because you...." that's a setup for an argument. But it's also a bid; she's asking if you'll commiserate with her, if you care about what matters to her, if you'll listen to her tale of woe so she can process all that upset. You're only human, so naturally you feel like snapping at her. But if you can take a deep breath and respond with empathy, you'll find you can turn the entire situation around. So you might say:

"Really, you don't like the Rolling Stones? I guess this is a little loud....Okay, I'll turn this off and we can talk while we drive about what music to play so we can find something we both like."
"Wow, you sound like you had a really terrible day! Tell me about it."

Later, of course, you can ask if she really thinks her terrible day was all your fault. She'll almost certainly sheepishly apologize. In the meantime, instead of a fight, you've deepened your relationship.

4. If you don't get the response you want to your overtures to your kids, step back and watch how you initiate.

Are you inviting a positive response? If what you want is connection, don't start with correction.

5. If you make an overture and are greeted with something hurtful -- disdain, sarcasm, or blankness -- try not to respond with anger. Instead, show your vulnerability and hurt.

Say "Ouch!" and turn away (before you give in to the temptation to lash out.) Your son or daughter (or spouse!) will almost certainly feel badly about having hurt you, especially since you haven't aroused their ire by attacking back. Later, when you aren't hurt and angry, you can tell them how it made you feel to get that response. Try to talk only about your feelings, not about them being wrong.
Intimacy is a dance. It deepens or is eroded by every interaction we have. The good news? That means that every interaction you have is a chance to shift onto a positive track and deepen your connection to your loved ones.