Do you talk to your children about the world around them?

My mum and I often chuckle over a reaction I had to our child health nurse when Josh was just little.  The nurse and I were talking about Joshua’s speech delay and she said to me, “You do talk to him don’t you?”  Well, of course I talked to him!!  “No, no” she insisted, “I don’t mean just talk to him, I mean do you point out the things that you see, like, Hey Josh, see that red car over there!”  Well, no, I didn’t do that and I thought it ridiculous.

But there began a habit which has shaped our parenting ever since.  I began talking to my son; I began sharing with him the things that I saw around me, and the things that I was thinking about.

I have taken this a lot further than the nurse meant me to – she was talking about the physical things, and I have ended up talking to my kids about not only the physical, but also the spiritual, the moral, the emotional, social and practical.   At the time I didn’t know the significance this one parenting tool would have on our but it has been truly central.

Do you talk to your kids?   Do you talk to them about what you see around you, what you have read, what you have thought about?  Have you shared your passions and your motivations?  Your fears and anxieties?  Your successes and victories?  We need to talk to our kids – doesn’t matter what age – they need to hear from us.