The year 2020 has been a life changer for all of us. Little did we know, while we were welcoming and celebrating the New Year of 2020, Mother Nature had a different plan, for the whole of mankind. This has been a year to learn, a year to show compassion, a year to become stronger than ever before, a year of resilience and of course a year to adapt.
While the world has been busy adapting in every possible way imagined – something which is expected from adults and parents and teachers and children, we often forget that children have a different language of their own. As adults we can only understand this language when we simply listen and not form a judgement or subconsciously start thinking of what our answers will be when the child finishes communicating. A “hmm” for a child may be a complete different form of communication than a “hmm” for us. Valuing that “hmm” for a child is what makes all the difference.
Children want to be heard, but not how we want to hear them. They want to be heard in their own language. Today, more than ever, where the world is social distancing and staying at home, and friends and work and class are all but a virtual screen, it is our responsibility as adults, parents, and teachers to understand the silent language of the child, to listen as truly deserved and empathise.