Connecting with kids …

1. When they are crawling and their faces are never more than a few inches off the ground – meet them down there – eye-to-eye. Crawl with them and enjoy that young activity. Don’t push them to do more; they will walk soon enough.

2. When they are more interested in using their big muscles than using their minds – meet them outside for some activity before expecting them to work on schoolwork numbers and letters.

3. When they want to talk endlessly about their special interest (music, video games, dinosaurs, etc.) hear them out, pay attention, and be impressed. Listen and learn. Let them be the expert.

4. Read to them once in a while – even though they can read all by themselves. Give them a
   rest from learning new things and just let them enjoy what is easy and comforting for them.

5. Rub their back at bedtime. There will be no harm done to their growing up. Morning will be soon enough for them to act more grown up and for you to expect them to be responsible and independent.

What two real moms shared about making connections:

Grandma Mary ran crawling races with my toddler. She was crawling everywhere, so Grandma got down on all fours, did ready-set-go, and off they both went. Grandma always won because my daughter giggled so hard she would just belly flop to the floor. 

My teenage daughter was in the school marching band. Every minute she was stepping-in-place – practicing her moves. I was tempted to insist she stand still – or even worse – to sit down so we could have a serious conversation. But, what worked much better, was when I stood eye-to-eye with her for those needed conversations and while we talked I offered smiles and nods in recognition of her impressive “marching.”