Children and Listening

As we were having a nice talk over dinner with our girl Sam, I was reminded of the importance of listening well to our children. As she's 17, most people treat her now with the politeness usually extended to grown-ups, but for toddlers and younger children it amazes me how often I see them not being listened to.

Fair enough, they are young and perhaps a little rude themselves, as they have not yet learned all the civility of normal conversation such as not interrupting, giving others a chance to speak, etc, but I think that the best way for them to LEARN good conversational manners is to be treated in a polite way.

When people wonder why children don't listen to them, I sometimes wonder - are they first setting a great example and listening well to the children?

For more information, you might be interested in the Children and Listening Skills Article.

Happy parenting,

Cassie