CENTER OF ATTENTION
Kids often interrupt simply because it is the only way they can get anyone to pay attention to them. Give each of your children a block of time every week during which she knows she will be the center of attention. You can talk, walk or play a game during her time, but your focus will be on each other. Don't answer the door or the phone or allow any other distractions to interrupt your time together.
ME FOR A DAY
When we listen well, we put ourselves in the other person's position. To practice listening skills, have family members interview each other about what they did, thought and saw during the day. Then, have them pretend to be that person during dinner. Can they recount what they did, whom they talked to, and the day's high and low points? You might have to play this over and over, as all children want to have the opportunity to pretend to be their parents--and to see their parents pretend to be them.
PLAYING FAVORITES
To generate a rousing conversation during car trips or the dinner hour, ask everyone in the family to make a list of their top ten favorite books, their top ten reasons for liking (or not liking) science or their top ten favorite summer or holiday memories. Then, take turns reading off your lists, from the bottom up. Be sure to elaborate on your own answers and encourage other family members to do the same. And draw comparisons as you go: Who has the most unexpected answer? Whose answers are the same?
CONVERSATION HELPERS
In any good conversation, questions will arise to which no one has the absolute answer. Rather than guessing or allowing the topic to fizzle, keep resources close by to which you can turn for help. Animal books, dictionaries, thesauruses, and other reference books on topics that interest your family, such as music, movies, sports and such, are worthwhile investments. Get your kids involved in developing your reference library on your trips to the bookstore--even browsing provides a source of conversational inspiration.
