- Conventional wisdom: Giving children our undivided attention is simple.
- Reality: Towering above them is not helping your case.
Imagine if everyone in your life towered above you. Imagine everyone telling you what to do and giving you orders. That’s the life of a newborn, a toddler, and a first grader. Now imagine yourself a very small child, and your parent actually gets down to your level, even if it means lying on the floor, and communicates with you, eye to eye. I hope you see the difference. The first scenario excludes, and does not promote family or social grouping or acceptance. It’s how an all-powerful giant king rules his minions.
The latter scenario promotes inclusion as equals; the child knows he is a family member. The point is to respect your children as individuals, and to socialize with them from the earliest age. You can do that by getting down to their level and having a two-way conversation rather than barking orders from the treetops. Mommies for the most part already do this face to face communication (some call it bonding) when they cradle their newborn or hold their infant on their shoulder, or sit at splash level next to a high chair, and that is why it is mostly a daddy problem.
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