As Parent and Spouses, we Hardly Listen!
One of the things that I am becoming more aware of, is how little we listen. Listening in the family is so important, yet sometimes is one of the things we do the least.
How many times someone says something and we are either busy doing something else, or we are immediately thinking about what will our answer be even before we take time to process the information that is being given to us?
How about the times we jump to conclusions and our response is based on that? The other day I shared a story to make a point, but the person listening to the story missed the point and focused on an assumption they came up with from my story and proceeded to suggest a better way to handle the situation. My daughter told me how she got in trouble because her little sister said she was not doing her homework, but she had been, is just that her sister tattle-taled on the precise moment that she took a short break. I know with my husband some times we get into a disagreement because we didn’t take time to listen, truly listen to what was being said.
I want to be the best listener in the world. I listen all the time when I am working or with other people, yet when I am at home it is easy to let the guard down and forget that my family like everyone else also deserves my complete attention. No need to start thinking of the answer, defense, excuse, or time to correct. I want to listen, and listen well. I want to listen to my children’s hearts! I want to listen to my husband like everyone does when they are dating and every word that is being said is treasured.
Listening to my kids, is so important. I often wonder if some parents have problems with their teens not wanting to talk to them, because of the poor listening skills exercised when the kids were little. If as parents we are in a hurry, busy working, or screen in from of us….and not allowing us to give our kids, our undivided attention, what makes us think that they will fill safe sharing when they grow up?
Listening has to be cultivated in order to reap good results, trust, and a safe place to be transparent.
