I have been working with Families and Children for forty years in various capacities as a Mentor, a Public School Teacher, an After-School Director, a Pastor and an Entertainer. One of the most valuable skills that anybody can have is the ability to listen. That’s right. Even more so today, you’re your skills of listening (and yes, this is important even to an entertainer).
Let’s face it. One thing that is very apparent is that today’s families are multitaskers. Parents both work or are single, and the kids are busy with school and extracurricular activities. There seems to be too little time to simply be together. In a recent study of 1,023 kids, 44.5 percent say they feel their time with their mother is rushed and 37 percent say that their time with their father is rushed. Children who feel they don’t get enough of their parents’ attention feel less grounded and more stressed. How to combat the rush?
Just hang and listen. You don’t have to drop everything you’re doing. You can hang out with your kids while both of you are doing other things. But you need to be able to quickly shift your full attention to a child at any moment and truly listen to them. When they want to talk, put your papers down, face them and listen. The point is to focus on your children when they feel the need to talk. The world may be going by at the speed of light, but we all need to slow down at times and just be present in the moment.
About the Author: Michael Reist, The Amazing Magi is a Professional Magician and Family Entertainer who lives in Annville, PA and performs all across the NE United States. To contact Michael simply e-mail him at [email protected] or call (610) 698-0311.
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