Talk to Your Children
It's the end of the first week of classes and I'm already learning a lot. For example, I learned that Betty Hart and Todd Risley did a longitudinal study on the effect that talking to children has on their IQ. They found that children whose parents talked to them more {about their day, life, whatever}scored higher on IQ tests than children whose parents hardly talked to them at all. Is this a strange phenomenon to some?
My mom and I talk every day. I mean, seriously. If we haven't talked by lunch, it's abnormal. If we haven't talked by the time I leave work, it's unthinkable. If we hadn't talked at all, it's devastating! Okay, it hasn't always been like this. Let's face it, I was a normal, moody teenager. It wasn't until I realized that my mom really did know what she was talking about that I wised up to her wisdom. So now, we talk a lot!
I can honestly say that this has brought us so much closer. I know so many more things about her that I probably would never know. She's always had an open-door policy...including while in the bathroom. {Yes, we are one of those families!} And she's always been honest with us. It isn't about sugar-coating, it's about being open and honest. And in turn I was open and honest with her. And I do respect her so much more for that.
Has it increased my IQ? Who knows. I've never had one of those tests. Besides, I'm a pretty lousy test taker to begin with...but overall, my relationship with my mother has grown and is pretty amazing.
My mom and I talk every day. I mean, seriously. If we haven't talked by lunch, it's abnormal. If we haven't talked by the time I leave work, it's unthinkable. If we hadn't talked at all, it's devastating! Okay, it hasn't always been like this. Let's face it, I was a normal, moody teenager. It wasn't until I realized that my mom really did know what she was talking about that I wised up to her wisdom. So now, we talk a lot!
I can honestly say that this has brought us so much closer. I know so many more things about her that I probably would never know. She's always had an open-door policy...including while in the bathroom. {Yes, we are one of those families!} And she's always been honest with us. It isn't about sugar-coating, it's about being open and honest. And in turn I was open and honest with her. And I do respect her so much more for that.
Has it increased my IQ? Who knows. I've never had one of those tests. Besides, I'm a pretty lousy test taker to begin with...but overall, my relationship with my mother has grown and is pretty amazing.
I'm pretty sure I'd get a big fat fail if I took an IQ test haha
ReplyDeleteHaha! Oh boy!
DeleteMom and I are the same way. I chat with her pretty much all day through email or text messaging, I think it has made our family relationship much stronger as well. There are very little secrets in our family period and there is very little my parents don't know and even those things are minor details. Both mom and dad were very active in our lives and even though dad was gone for long periods of time when we were young for the military, he knew what was going on in our lives and asked questions. I won't say that I have a really high IQ or I am a genius, but both Stef and I are getting our master's degrees and Steve is finishing up his bachelor's degree. I think it made us smarter in the way we communicate with others around us for sure though.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just a yearning for knowledge. :)
Delete