The sooner you start mentoring your kids, the better. We recommend creating a weekly habit of Family Talk with children as young as 5 years old. Create a conversational culture in your home and start teaching your values intentionally. Your kids will learn to internalize your family values and bring them into their teen years and beyond.

We recommend scheduling Family Talk at least once a week, preferably in the morning before school or in the evening after dinner. Make it a priority, and try connecting it to something fun every once in a while.

Parents who raise their kids with Family Talk are likely to have teens who appreciate the conversational environment. But starting family talk in the teens years is a little trickier. Many teens are hesitant to engage in real conversations with parents and siblings. You can still make it happen, but it’ll take a little patience and a lot of power-through.

The goal of Family Talk is simple, but it may surprise you: empowering teens to mentor. We believe you don’t really internalize something until you teach it. Start Family Talk with the expectation that you’re mentoring kids who will eventually become mentors themselves. But parents will have to be intentional about helping their teens start a student group. Learn more about peer mentoring