"We as parents need to always be aware of not just what we say with our mouths, but also with our body language."

4 Keys to Becoming a Better Nonverbal Listener
1. Connect Intentionally- One of the things that has tremendously challenged our relationships over the past several years has been the increase of the amount of tasks we can accomplish with our mobile devices. With these new tasks, it is so easy for us to always be connected to a device at any given time of the day. Each email notification, Facebook post, Snapchat post, or Tweet can send a direct message to our kids that they're not that important. Just the other night during family movie night my daughter asked my wife and I to put down our phones and watch the movie. My first response could've easily been, "I pay the bills in this house," but she was right. Our bodies were in the room but our body was telling them that we weren't really interested in the movie they wanted to watch with us. Some times just putting our phones in another room so that we can fully engage will do wonders for our kids. I personally think that during the few times my kids act out emotionally, could have to do with a feeling of being disconnected from mommy or daddy. I have to constantly make sure that I engage and connect with them intentionally throughout the week.
2. Intentionally Disconnect-It's important to give kids their time, but I feel it is equally as important for them to see you being fully engaged with something/someone other than them. They must understand boundaries and that the world doesn't revolve around them all of the time. The best way to do that is to spend face to face time with other people in your life. When they see my wife and I working on a home improvement project or serving at church it shows them a whole new realm of life. Recently, my wife politely asked one of my daughters, "Daddy has been away from me all day, could you to please allow me some time to speak to him?" Of course, my little one agreed and went on her way. My wife then turned back to me to continue our conversation. Setting those boundaries will curb some of the innate selfishness that kids are naturally born with.
3. Eye Contact-No matter what your kids are discussing it is vital that you give them eye contact on a regular basis. Now that's hard to do when they're jabbering in the backseat while on highway 13, but when possible stare them down. I tell my kids from time to time, "I need to see the whites of your eyes." They know that means we haven't had a chance to talk face to face that day. Everyone feels appreciated when they have the undivided attention of their loved ones. Yes, at the moment you might not care to hear about all of the character's names in Zootopia, but it's important to your child. So, why not just look them in the eye and let them know that you hear them?
4. Know When to Hold 'Em-A big portion of a child's development involves physical touch. When life seems ridiculously overwhelming, some times the little people in our house need a loving hug from us big people. This crazy world we live is becoming crazier than it ever has and our kids need to know that we are a safe place that they can come to. It's not easy for some of us dads to do the mushy huggy thing, but all kids at some point need their daddy to affirm them with a hug, kiss, or pat on the back. As we connect with them over the years, they'll teach us our own nonverbal signals and we'll just know when they need our affection. This is true for the 4 year old as well as the 40 year old kid. The Dad Days never end!
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