Getting to know you - Part 2

As with new people we meet, getting to know your children would probably involve spending time with them, talking to them, and maybe even listening to what they have to say. And you might think all that comes out of their mouth is childish nonsense, but that's not always the case. Pay close attention and really, what they reveal is their true selves, what really is in their little hearts and minds.

Don't waste those precious moments you have with them while driving, waiting for the food, standing in a lift, walking in the supermarket. Resist that urge to be quiet, stare blankly into space or whip out the phone. Instead, talk.

You often see families sitting around a dining table, each one playing with their own device, immersed in their own little bubble, absorbing the energy from a cold Internet. It seems like the intention of the gathering was lost. They should instead be engaged with each other in meaningful conversation, or meaningless chatter. It doesn't matter. Only when you speak, (and occasionally listen,) do you begin to drink in the soul of the other.

Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insinuating and insidious something that elicits secrets just like love or liquor.

So interact, react, act. Answer, ask. Let your words be the keys to unlock your child's inner workings. You'll find there is so much more there then just a little person with a grubby face.