The Power of Conversation

May is Speech and Hearing Month, a month that is close to my heart. In my first career I worked as a social worker, primarily with kiddos in the school system. Early on, I realized the enormous connection between our ability to communicate, and our social-emotional well-being. They go together like PB & J, and it’s really hard to have one without the other. So back to school I went, to complete a Masters Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. I now spend a good chunk of my time working with kiddos to improve their ability to communicate. To listen and to be understood. Communication is a powerful thing. In today’s world of technology and devices, I do worry that we spend less time talking. Less time talking to our kids, and less time modeling good communication in front of our kids. I am guilty of this too, spending time checking my email when I could be engaging with the littles. And so project dinnertime came about in our house- a commitment to eating together at least a couple of times a week, in between swimming, hockey and Girl Guides. And along with eating together, by golly, we were going to have some meaningful conversations. This was harder than it sounds! With a seven and ten year old, the conversations went something like this: ‘How was school today?’ ‘Fine.’ ‘What did you do?’ ‘Nothing.’ I’m sure this is sounding familiar for some of you! And so, with my speechie hat on, and knowing how awesome visual supports can be, I decided to try something new. Placemats, with conversation topics, and reminders to share both the good and yuck parts of our day. And we ALL answer the questions, so everyone gets their moment in the sun. Positive benefits of the conversation placemats? We share about our day, learn a little more about each other, the kids WANT to stay at the table, and for a little while, no one is checking a device. We are listening, we are being understood. Happy Speech and Hearing month, let’s try to connect by disconnecting!