Talking To Kids

My brothers and I lived back in a time as kids when manners were a thing and we were expected to be relatively silent unless spoken to. It was a different era. We learned how to manipulate as kids do to get certain things in spite of all those rules and expectations. But it must be said, you could feel how awkward some adults were when dealing with kids, especially those folks who had none of their own.

The standard question would be to ask how things were in school. No child wants to answer that one which is why the standard reply is, "Fine". In other words, that stops the conversation cold and no further banter follows. Why is it that adults do not see these little adults as interesting humans with their own set of abilities and challenges? Maybe they cannot look beyond the size and dismiss children too easily.

If someone had shown interest in my desire to write, that would have been marvellous for me. But kids also know there are certain expectations about what activities you will do and what is considered acceptable. I was looking for encouragement. All kids need that. So why did an adult not look for the special abilities in that young kid and see potential? Well, I suspect they preferred me to take on standard occupations in the future since creativity was not considered a safe occupation.

Every child I talked to came up with interesting answers as to what pursuits gave them pleasure. I could see them going places in this world. Of course, I know kids change their minds often. But those dreams are very real. Give a kid a break and talk to one like they are interesting to you. This kind of exchange could create one very self assured individual and they would have you to thank for believing in them. I am sure it will matter to that child.