Reply #27: Sometimes just talking can help, don't ask what's wrong, or anything

[EC]

just small talk, and eventually if she wants to talk about what is really bothering her she'll bring it up. About the time my daughter turned 15 or so, we started this ritual, where every night, we would meet in the living room just to watch one particular program that we both liked (then it was Grace, then as she got older it became Letterman), with a cup a sleepytime tea, pretty soon she would start talking about whatever bothered her during the day...I didn't really offer advise, just asked her leading questions, to let her solve it her own way...we did this until she was about 28 and moved out, but she still looks to me to talk things through now...