Are They Listening?

Do you ever wonder if your kids are listening to anything you say or do? You are in good company if you have these thoughts.   All be it my little guy is only 5 and I wonder sometimes if we should have his ears checked… but he seems to have no problem hearing the Treehouse channel. Several of my friends now have teenagers and wonder if they have an ounce of influence on any of their kid’s decisions.

I had the occasion to spend an evening with a long-time friend…sans kids.  We had the time to share some parenting experiences. His daughter, now 14, has little time for her dad these days other than when some cash is needed for camp or a new I-phone… not an easy time.

All this talk prompted a trip down memory lane, to a time when I was a teenager.  I grew up in a blue collar immigrant home in the country.  My dad was a good role model in many ways, hardworking family man and provider. But German dads of his generation were not known for great conversations with their kids about the meaning of life.   Compared to many of my friends I spent a lot of time with my dad when I was growing up.  I spent a lot of Saturdays rambling down country roads in a pick-up truck with “the old man”, coming to and from job sites or cutting fire wood for the long cold winters. We talked plenty…about cars, politics, and cars…

But when I was in Grade 13, and it was decision time about whether to go to work, college or university…much to my surprise, my Dad did have something to say. He didn’t call a meeting or center me out at the dinner table. In his quiet way as we bounced around in the old pick-up truck on a Saturday afternoon, he firmly suggested I take option # 3, University. He calmly explained that he felt I had what it took and I should at least give it my best shot…and he would do whatever he could at his end to make it possible. And then we talked about cars.   A few months later he dropped me off at the doors of York University.  Yes Dad…I was listening, and Thanks!