Why effective communication with kids is so important now -- Communicating empathy: a recipe for closeness and connection -- The language of a parent consultant -- Communicating a nonanxious presence -- Pep talks: talking to help kids find their own motivation -- The language-and silence-of change: understanding ambivalence -- "What if I don't want to live up to my potential?": communicating healthy expectations -- Talking to kids about the pursuit of happiness -- The hard ones: talking with kids about sleep and technology -- What about consequences?

"If you're a parent, you've had a moment--maybe many of them--when you've thought, "How did that conversation go so badly?" At some point after the sixth grade, the same kid who asked "why" non-stop at age four suddenly stops talking to you. And the conversations that you wish you could have--ones fueled by your desire to see your kid not just safe and healthy, but passionately engaged--suddenly feel nearly impossible to execute. The good news is that effective communication can be cultivated, learned, and taught. And as you get better at this, so will your kids"--