" The finest art of communication is not learning how to express your thoughts. It is learning how to draw out the thoughts of another. Your objective in communication must be to understand your child, not simply to have your child understand you. (Goober has now moved on to headstands). Many parents never learn these skills. They never discover how to help their children articulate their thoughts and feelings.
There is certain irony in all this. ( Goober is now seated beside me asking why I am copying this book). When children are little, we often fail to engage them in significant conversation. (I am now counting how many push-ups Goob can do...can you tell that he wants my attention :) When they try to engage us, we respond with uninterested "uh huh's." Eventually, they learn the
ropes. They realize that we are not interested in what goes on in them. They learn that a "good talk" for us is a "good listen" for them. When they become teens, the tables turn. Parents wish they could engage their teens, but the teens have long since stopped trying. "
Good stuff huh, will make me think twice before shushing Goober in the car, as he yells over the DVD player to get my attention while I am sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. He's a good little talker and I don't want to do anything to change that!!
Off I go, we are now counting change that dad found in the dryer and Goober has decided that he may let me know where his secret hiding place is for money :).
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