If we want them to open up to us about things bothering them (i.e. worries, questions, stresses), we need to be open with them. One of the best ways, for example, to show them the wonder of God’s forgiveness is by confessing how we struggle with a sin. Even though we feel badly about it, we don’t despair because we know God forgives us through Christ. He has drowned those sins in the depth of the seas. He has separated them from us as far as the east is from the west.

Don’t do it all the time. That could result in it quickly losing its effectiveness. If done judiciously, however, it could eventually move them to be more transparent with you.