Children are to be Seen, Heard & Absolutely Listened to!

Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘Children should be seen and not heard?’  I remember hearing this as a young child from our extended family, and, of course, it never quite sat right with me.  I believe now, exactly what I believed then…Children have a very important voice.  Yet, now it’s a part of who I am and a commitment I make daily to help children find their voice, and speak their truth.

I pride myself on my ability to teach.  I have always thought that I was a really good teacher because I have a way of simplifying difficult lessons, but I must say, I’ve met a teacher who is even more amazing than me…

About three months ago, I was talking with a friend on the phone who was very disappointed because she had been trying for a second child for quite some time, and was still not pregnant.  I had her on speaker phone while I was talking, and my son was going about his business quietly.  My friend has a 2 year old son and as we were speaking on the phone, and she was crying over her disappointment, her 2 year old walked over to her and said, “Baby girl coming soon, Momma.”  She wimpered a bit more, and then asked him what he just said.  He repeated, with great vigor and confidence, “Baby girl coming soon!”  I was smiling on the other end of the phone while I listened to this because, I was reassuring her that this was all going to work out, and her son just confirmed that.  She turned back to our conversation and said, “Why would he say that, Vick?“

Before I could even get a breath and bring the words to my lips, my son spoke up, “Mom, tell her to believe him!  Growned ups don’t get it.  Babies know more than they do because they remember things from ‘up there,‘  why won’t she just listen to him?”  In awe, and with an even bigger smile on my face, I asked my friend if she heard my sons guru advice.  She chuckled and said, “Yes, but what does this all mean?” My son then said, “Mom, gimme the phone.”  He greeted her very gently and then said, “Ok, listen.  Kids haven’t been here for too long, ya know, on Earth, so it’s easy for us to still know stuff like we did in Heaven.  Your son is telling you that a baby girl is coming soon because she IS coming soon.  You have to believe him.  You just have to believe him!”  He then handed me the phone and said, “Ok mom, your turn!”  I ended the conversation and asked my son where that was all coming from.  His response, “Well mom, kids know more than growned ups because they were in the other world not so long ago, especially babies.”  I looked at him and said, “Hunnie, that’s amazing that you still remember all of this.”   He looked deep into my eyes and replied, “That’s why I picked you Mom.  I picked you because you’re beautiful (he got brownie points for that one), loving, and your not like most growned ups.  You get it!”

Considering the fact that I did an interview with the Miracle Cafe Radio Show last night, http://www.miraclecaferadio.com/radio-show-archive and was labeled the ‘Modern Day Mary Poppins,’ I’m thinking my son just might be on to something! 

We live in a world where everyone is doing their own thing.  If you look around on any given day, you will inevitably see children with their eyes on an iPod Touch, iPad, or some sort of electronic gadget.  At first glance, you might notice that the children are totally engaged in their own little world.  When you look again, you might notice that, we, their parents and guardians, are also immersed in this world.  We may be checking our email from our Smart Phone, texting, or even playing games right along side the child that sits next to us.  When I think of our world today and how we interact with one another, it sometimes saddens me because our youth has a difficult time communicating with one another without technology as a barrier.  Worse, they have a very difficult time communicating with the adults around them.  After listening to my son, it’s easy to see how children start shutting down with their communication after awhile.  If you aren’t really listening to them, especially when they have a SUPER important message, then they begin to doubt those messages themselves and shut them down.