color the United States: Conversation ( informal talking)

color the United States: Conversation ( informal talking): I like the modern means of communication we have, cell phones, texting, e-mail, Face book, Twitter etc. But I am concerned that our " ...

Conversation ( informal talking)

I like the modern means of communication we have, cell phones, texting, e-mail, Face book, Twitter etc.
But I am concerned that our " verbal " skills may be being lost. It is  so nice to just be together "physically" with family or friends and "visit". Talking about our days activities, work, school, someone we saw, our favorite food, favorite (or not) movie or TV show, something we read in a magazine or paper, music, books, news about family or friends, places we've been or would like to go or our hobbies or one we would like to learn.

I recently had my grandson John tell me he had been over to one of his friends house and they just
" hung out", no big deal, they just "visited", no planned thing, and how much he had enjoyed it.

It seems these days most things have to be "planned" or made into a "big deal". I'm not sure where that came from, but the everyday insignificant things make life pleasant and certainly less stressful.

When we go out to eat and I see families or friends sitting at a table together and they are all using their electronic devices instead of talking to each other I think why do they even bother being together, they may be physically sitting together  but they are not " connected". I wonder why they don't put those devices away and make an effort to "be together" and verbally talk to each other. It is nice to see people's facial expressions and hear the fluctuations in their voices.

Conversation, is a very important part of our social structure and a pleasant way to stay connected to each other, we should try to practice it more.

Being a Parent

You may wonder why I am writing about being a parent. I will tell you why, recently I say a news article showing a woman with several children, and she made the statement " someone has to be responsible for these children". Of course as a mother , I thought " they are YOUR children,therefore
YOUR responsibility". I am not hard hearted, the woman obviously needed help, BUT she needed HELP, NOT for someone else to be responsible for her children.

Being a parent is the single most important responsibility a person can have.

Think about it, a new baby has the most incredible "computer" inside it's little head ready to be programmed.

What we put into that little "computer" or brain will determine to a large extent what that baby will grow up to be as an adult. Big responsibility huh?!!

As I have said before I don't think a baby is ever "too young" to start learning. The first thing they should learn is love. They learn that by the way we talk to them ( the tone of voice we use), how hold them, feed them, bath them and take care of them.

I always say think of how you want to be treated if you were basically helpless and had to depend on someone to take care of you, because that's what a new born is.

Children have an inborn need to learn. They need guidelines, direction, and boundries. And they learn these things by being taught by word and example.

We advance our teaching as they grow, first we teach them the basics of how to feed themselves, how to talk, walk etc. As they grow we teach them manners, morals and resoponsibilities.

If you are a young person and think you would like to have a baby. before you let yourself get pregnant really think about the responsibility a baby is, because as the parent it is YOUR responsibility and a long term commitment.

If you are really young, say a teen, take the time to enjoy your time as a teen and young adult and when you feel you are ready to "sacrifice" things you want to do in exchange for the full time job  and joy of being a parent. Only when you are ready to make a long term commitment should you think about having a baby.

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding but sometimes difficult endeavors you will ever under take.

Because it is such an impportant responsibility, be sure you are ready to be a parent and commit to that vocation.

Manners in a minute !

The other day A young woman and I were waiting at an elevator for the door to open, when the door opened she said to someone behind me " hurry it's here". All of a sudden a little boy probably about 4 years came running right in front of me ( cutting me off ). The mother scolded the boy and "said you could have made that lady fall, tell her you are sorry", which he did.

I thanked him for his nice manners and said " you are very lucky that your mommy is teaching you nice manners. He looked shy but the mother beamed with pride.

My point in telling you this is that it only takes a minute to teach a child manners, all you have to do is take advantage of an opportunity, and use it as a teaching time, that way you are not "harping" at them but they learn.

Another example might be if you are having a meal together as a family whether at home or in a restaurant and your child/children are on their cell, texting or playing a game, it is a good time to ask them to wait until you have all finished your meal, explaining that you would like meal time to be a "family" time. You could even make it a rule that there be no electronic devices at the table when it's meal time, ( very few things are so important that they can't wait until after a meal).

Good manners may not " change the world" but it sure makes it a more pleasant place to live.
And remember the younger you start to teach them the more it will become part of their way of life.