How Well Do You Listen?

I love to read the "funnies" in the paper.  Although I do not take the paper, my daddy brings me his each week.  As I was reading this week, I came across this comic that really struck me.  It made me really think about how I treat and interact with my own children.  Do I let myself become distracted with whatever I am focused on, or do I take the time to really listen to what they are telling me?

The only way our children are going to learn to communicate properly in society is if we teach them how to do it.  This means letting them "get words in".  There are several times when my 5 1/2 year old really wants to tell a story or some other fact and he is quickly cut off by some member of the family because it is either not important to the listener, or it is a close "copy" of what the listener just said.  I have had to remind all participating listeners that what he has to say is just as important as what they themselves have to say.  

We need to remember to give even our youngest family members the chance to "say what they need to say" to feel accepted, loved and most of all, important to the family.