Even though it was practically automatic (and very tempting) to ask him “What are you talking about?” or to tell him to go back to bed immediately, Tina stopped herself. Instead she used the connect-and-redirect technique. She pulled him close, rubbed his back, and with a nurturing tone of voice, said, “Sometimes it’s just really hard, isn’t it? I would never forget about you. You are always in my mind, and I always want you to know how special you are to me.” She held him while he explained that he sometimes feels that his younger brother gets more of her attention, and that homework takes
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