Thursday, March 28 2024

Once, when my son was about nine months old, a friend who is a teacher came
to see me.

She still had no children, but she loves them dearly and more than once I’d
asked her advice, aware of her having studied, with great passion, pedagogy
and educational disciplines.

That day I expressed to her one of my greatest difficulties as a lover of
dialogue and clarity:

the lack of communication that I often felt between my son and me

, since he was still too young to speak and to understand what I said to
him.

“The problem is that he still cannot communicate…” I told her.

“It’s not true that he doesn’t communicate – she told me – children so
young don’t speak, but they communicate…”

That reply embarrassed me: me, a graduate in Communication, I had reduced a
person’s ability to communicate to words alone. I had associated the
success of a dialogue to verbal communication only.

“You’re right, – I corrected myself – the problem is that he doesn’t speak
and so we often don’t understand each other. But it is absolutely true that
he communicates… ”

After that episode, I found myself feeling particularly reflective on the
ways babies express themselves and furthermore, I can say that I have
learned the real “rules” on non-verbal communication: the teachings that
the children – in regards to why they do not speak – can offer us adults,
who often focus too much on what to say, neglecting aspects that are
nevertheless very important for achieving a fruitful and effective mode of
communication in the family and beyond.

Here, then, are five rules on non-verbal communication that, I think, we
adults should learn from babies.



1. The fact that you are present, counts more than what you say and
what you do

Very young children have not yet reached a degree of rationality as to
understand words and concepts, nor can they understand the meaning behind
many of our gestures or movements.

But they listen to us, of course, and they observe us because they need it
to make their both tiny and great daily progress, and there are many things
that “slip” in the first years of life.

There is something, however, that children are able to understand from the
first day of life, that is , if those on whom they depend take care of them or not,
if they are considered important, loved, or neglected.

They are able to understand whether or not their crying interests us. In
short, they are able to sense our presence and our absence.

How often, even in relationships with other adults, we worry about giving
advice (which often is more than just a couple sentences), we worry about
“doing something,” but aren’t able to really stand next to the people who
need us without showing empathy?


The baby then tells you very clearly that the thing that matters more
than anything else,

if you want to help someone or simply show him affection, is your presence, your closeness. What you say or do is
important, yes, but is secondary in regards to the gift of your time.

2. Don’t just show love with words. Show it

You can tell a six-month-old baby: “I love you” upwards of eighty times in
a single day, but he will not understand it.

He will understand very well, however, that you love him if you help him
fall asleep, if you get up at night when he wakes up thirsty or in pain, if
you rock him when he’s nervous, if you feed him because he cannot do it
alone.

It seems obvious, yet it is not: love shows itself first of all with deeds.

What I have just said, doesn’t it also apply to relationships between
adults, spouses, brothers and sisters, friends or colleagues? Don’t deeds
say much more about our care and attention, than our words?

The baby tells us very clearly: it is not enough to say “I love you,” for
the other person really feeling welcomed, loved. The sacrifices we make,
the patience we put into the relationship, the ability to put off our
tiredness to take care of the other, are much, much more eloquent than
words.



3. Do not reply in the same manner: if they’re screaming, you tone
it down

When babies have to show disappointment, they cry and scream. They do it
uncontrollably, just to make us understand how sad, disappointed, or
frustrated they may be, and to implicitly ask for help.

The parent, then, especially when faced with a tantrum, may be tempted to
scream back – maybe even louder. And here we end up in a whirlwind of
nervousness: a tirade begins with shouting that cannot be defused by the
child and that, on the contrary, will make his already state of discontent
even worse.

It would be much more beneficial for the parent to maintain a balanced
attitude without giving in to the child or raising his voice.

It’s normal to lose control from time to time, but we should remember that
a calm voice can also soothe the child: screaming only generates more
screaming, calmness instead has the extraordinary power to lighten the
atmosphere.

Doesn’t this also apply to adult relationships? How many times, those who
cannot talk scream in order to be heard? How many conversations go awry
because of strident tone of voice?

So young children teach us this

: if someone is in your face screaming, get down on their level instead
of trying to “fix” the situation by coming back in the same way.


4. Nervousness is contagious; the smile is as well

Aggression generates more aggression; screaming only lead to louder
screaming. On the contrary, calm generates calm, and smiles generate other smiles.

I remember when I brought my son to the nursery school for the first time;
the teacher asked me what temperament my child had. I replied that he was a
lively child, very sociable and always smiling. Yes, I told her: “He smiles
at everyone.”

I thought it was a part of his character – and maybe it is – but what
amazed me was that her reply: “So it means that he is surrounded by people
that smile”.

We are not an idyllic family, it’s true that it’s not all butterflies and
sunshine in our home, but, thinking about it, she was right: very often,
although we were not always in a good mood, we “got over” our state of mind
and we smiled. And this did not happen just with us parents, but also with
grandparents, uncles, and friends.

Each of us, in front of a child, puts his own problems aside and smiles
at that little goon.

Even furthermore, maybe it was his very smile and carefree attitude that
made us forget out bitterness and problems for a few hours. This positive
attitude, according to the teacher, also led the child to be positive and
confident in regards to the outside world.

Here, then, is another lesson in life: let’s remember to smile, because
just as nervousness is contagious, as is a smile… We can really make the
environments in which we find ourselves brighter if we try to smile,
despite the problems that afflict us.

5. Never give up on music

We all know: music acts a bit like a magic wand for parents when it comes
to wiping away tears and fixing bad moods. How often do very young children
wake up in the middle of the night upset, and then go back to sleep happily
thanks to their mother’s song? How many times are they bored, sad, nervous
and then they quiet down listening to a song?

Music has the power to relieve stress, to calm us down.
The enchanted, relaxed gaze of the children when they listen to a melody
should invite us, then, to resume – if we have lost it – the routine of
enjoying good music.

And you? Have you learned any other communication rules from babies? If you
want, write them in the comments! Certainly the list that we have proposed
can be further enriched.

Previous

The Internet, privacy, and the sense of modesty: If children’s education begins outside of the web

Next

Live and Die for a Selfie

Check Also