To all my family and friends who know how much I love to talk! To all of those who have been the recipient of my speeches which being, "research says. . ."
I just finished reading some papers on raising emotionally healthy kids - know the #1 indicator? Parents who talked to their kids! Even if their kids didn't talk back, they were listening. Did you know that for someone to absorb what you say, they have to hear it 7 times!
How many times did you tell your kids today that you love them? Twice? Three times? If not 7, they may not have "heard" you!
So for you young moms, there's a reason why you have to say, "No, no, no, no, no, NO, NO NO!" Those little ears only heard you the last two times!
Now I wonder, how many times has God told me something and in my humanness, I'm not hearing Him yet? Am I going to make Him say it 7 times before I get it? Boy, I hope I'm not that stubborn, or stupid!
The trip to Oklahoma last week was hard. Over 30 hours of drive time; 4 states, 2 time zones, a half dozen McDonald's (we're playing Monopoly), 4 beds, 3 homes, 1 hotel. One funeral, 3 nephews, 2 neices, my own 2 kids. Three suitcases, three backpacks, new dress because the weather was warm, tons of laundry and lots of diet coke. But even though I'm still tired and recovering, I'm so glad we went. The conversations between Chris and I were priceless. In the car, it's safe to talk and listen. We don't have to look at each other but we do have to listen. Ashley's not quite ready for those deep talks. She'd rather watch a movie, read a book and do her school work. But in the nex couple of years, she and I are going to take a road trip t0gether so we can talk.
Keep talking! We know it builds vocabulary in tiny children, word sense in toddlers, conversational skills in preschoolers; social skills in Kindergarten; vocabulary practice in 1st grade; sentence structure in second grade; expository skills in 3rd grade; expansion of knowledge base in 4th grade; shared experiences in 5th grade; experiment in language styles in 6th grade; expressive skills in 6th grade. . . .and a sense of trust and a foundation for future relationships across all age ranges!
Lord, forgive me for not listening. The first time. Open my ears to hear you speak. Open my eyes to see your presence. Open my heart to love others the way you love me.
KB
Glad you're back safe. Welcome home. Thanks for the reminder that when we feel like we're banging our head on a wall it really is just getting us closer to having them hear us. You're a great mom!
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