Does your child only see the hair in your nose?

I was reading the blog post about changing your perspective for better photos and it hit me, there is an exact parallel to positive parenting!

To all preschool children we look like GIANTS... all-powerful and omnipotent.

As we interact with children we often talk to them, at them, from our standing position, the position of power. We are big and they are small.

When they look up at us, all they see is the hair in our nose! This could be really embarrassing, if we think about it. Can they really take us seriously if that  is all they see?  

 

Up close and personal...a genuine encounter

When we get on the child’s level, look in their eyes and mirror back what the child is saying and not saying, we develop a deep and personal relationship.  This is when the child knows that we are there to partner with them through thick and thin.

Referring back to the original post and using the images from it, when we stand above we are about six feet away (just as in this photo), which is a lot to a two-foot tall child. There is no relationship, no connection.

When we lower ourselves to the child, like with this photograph that is close and personal, we are able to become intimate with the child. It is a relationship. A child will let pieces of their persona seep out for us to discover. It becomes part of the relationship.


When we talk at children from a distance it is not conductive for relationship development. So, just like getting the camera down to the child’s level to make a good photo, get yourself down to their level and see how your relationship develops.

Post by Stephen Zwolak