The Washington Post – Sarah Hamaker
“From the time our children are born, we have been told how important it is to talk to and with them. But no one told us how hard that would be in reality. On the one hand, we love their enthusiasm for the things that capture their interest, but for the love of Pete, we can’t take another endless recitation about dinosaurs, Frozen or how to play the game Treasure Island from P.E. class. Sometimes, the cold hard truth is that talking with our children can be an exercise in forbearance, what with the mundane topics and endless repetitions. But all is not lost! There is hope for intelligent, thoughtful, and—dare I say it?—interesting conversations with our children. The key is teaching our children what makes a good conversationalist…The basics, such as not interrupting and saying please and thank you, lay the foundation upon which we add the softer skills that help our children turn into people with whom conversing is a pleasure…While those skills don’t come naturally to most kids, they can be taught. Here are 10 ways we can guide our children to becoming better conversationalists.”(more)