Raising Kids / Growing parents Resources

Building Trust In Relationships

RKGP Building Trust Week 1 Newsletter

Bill Shackelford

7/6/2026

Building Trust In A Relationship

Raising Kids/Growing Parents Community

Welcome back,
Today we start a new four-part series on building trust in relationships. Let's begin with a quote on this important topic.

"Every lie leaves a permanent scar in the heart of the parenting team member and eats away at the joy you so desire in your relationship."

-- Bill Shackelford

Introduction

Have you heard the saying, “Trust is built with consistency”? It’s true for relationships of all kinds – marriages, friendships, and especially families. In healthy relationships, trust is the quiet confidence that says, “I know I can count on you; I know you care; I know we can handle this together.” Without trust, small challenges can feel overwhelming. With it, even big problems become manageable.

Trust is a delicate and precious commodity that forms the bedrock of our interactions with one another. Without trust, our world would be a vastly different and a less harmonious place. That is why this topic is included as a foundation issue in our Raising Kids / Growing Parents training.

Definition of Trust

By definition, trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. It's the confidence we place in someone that they will fulfill their promises and act in our best interest. Trust is not merely a word; it's the foundation building block upon which we construct our relationships, businesses, and communities.

Why It Matters

In our personal lives, trust is what allows us to form deep and meaningful connections with friends and family. It's the glue that holds marriages and friendships together through the ups and downs of life. Without trust, these bonds would be fragile and easily broken.

However, trust is not something that can be taken for granted. It must be earned and nurtured over time. It's fragile, and once broken, it can be challenging to rebuild.

To build and maintain trust, we must be honest, transparent, and consistent in our actions. We must keep our promises and act with integrity in all that we do. Lies (big and small) are the enemy to trust.

Different Ways We Approach Trust

There are two diametrically opposed ways in which people approach trust.

The Trust Is Given approach reflects an open-hearted mindset. These individuals assume the best in others until proven otherwise.

The Trust Is Earned approach is more cautious; it requires others to demonstrate consistency, honesty, and reliability before trust is extended.

Which approach do you take? What is your partner's approach? Have differences in approaches to trust caused miscommunication or conflict in your relationships? These are simple, but critically important questions you probably have not explored... until now. In the next few posts, we're going to explore these questions and more to prepare you for building a "trust foundation" for your relationship that will last a lifetime.

What To Expect

In this series of posts you will receive proven tips and tools for building and sustaining trust in relationships. Specifically, we will cover:

How to recognize and manage different approaches to trust.
How to assess your trustworthiness and why that is important.
Tips for building trust.
Tips for rebuilding trust
Where you can find training that will allow you to take a deep dive into trust building.

Assignment

Our Raising Kids / Growing Parents Podcast for this month is “Building Trust with Your Parenting Team” (Season 01, Episode 05). Click on the picture below to listen to this podcast before you join us for Week 2 activities.

We are pleased you have joined us for this month-long discussion of this important adulting/parenting issue.

Let’s Grow Together!

Bill Shackelford, Founder
AP Academy and
Raising Kids / Growing Parents Communit

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