Reading time with our kids can lead to something even more special.

Talking.

We just have to follow the so-called breadcrumbs.

I’ve started to recognize the real value of LISTENING over talking.  I’m working on this, intentionally.  And I wish I had been better at this when our kids were young. I am aware that I would often steer the conversation with our kids.   If I could do it all again, I would be willing to “sit in silence” or just “sit and see” what conversations my kids themselves would start.

Books can help us initiate conversations that we want and need to have with our little ones.  Reading a book about sadness or fear can even make our kids more aware of their own suppressed feelings.  They might identify with a character and understand their own emotions a bit better. Books about friendship can help our children understand how to share and be a good friend. Books about God and creation can help them feel loved and relevant.

A book like What Do You Do With a Problem? by  Kobi Yamada can help us talk through problems with our kids in real and creative ways. Reading a book like Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber may open up dialogue about being afraid to spend the night at someone’s house.  And, a book like This I Know: Seeing God in the World He Made (Based on Jesus Loves Me) by Clay Anderson can help our littles understand that they have purpose in this world!

Here’s the key: as we Book Time with Our Kids, let’s allow our kids to steer the conversation.  It’s challenging, I know!  We can offer prompts and personal experiences of our own if needed, but I think the challenge is to let THEM dominate the conversation.

Hansel and Gretel followed the breadcrumbs they had intentionally dropped in the woods so that they could find their way back home.  

Sometimes, trying to “follow” the conversation of a two, three or four year old can be like trying to spot hidden breadcrumbs on a thick forest floor.  But if we intentionally and patiently listen, we may uncover little conflicts or buried emotions that are rolling around in their minds.   We may be able to help them find their way safely home, just by sitting and listening. 

Reading time can lead to talking time, and talking time can create trust and openness.  We don’t have to solve all of their problems, but we can be the person who will listen in love.  I want to do a better job of this as “Nana” than I did as “Mom”.

“These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7)

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