Tip of the Week - Help Your Children to Stay in Touch!

While on vacation I read a great article in a back issue of Better Homes and Gardens on helping children maintain quality communication with a parent serving in the armed forces.  Noting that little children may feel awkward while talking on the telephone over a long distance and on an irregular basis, the magazine had a wonderful idea for enhancing the quality of their phone conversations: 

• Have the child decorate a jar (or a box, container, gift box or whatever you’ve got on hand!) and label it with the name of the parent who is away from home! 
• During the days between calls, help the child to jot down important (in their world!) happenings on little slips of paper and put them in the jar - an “A” in spelling, a goal in soccer, a fun birthday party and so on. 
• When the long awaited call comes, reach for the jar and the child will have lots of exciting news to share and won’t resort to chatting about the weather or the dog!

This idea was so appealing that I couldn’t help taking it a bit further!  What about creating a jar for:

• The parent who frequently travels for business? 
• An older sibling away at college? 
• Beloved grandparents who live far away? 
• A family separated by divorce or other circumstances?

Helping your children learn to speak clearly and confidently about their lives will give them a life long talent, not to mention the pleasure that it will bring to those on the other end of the phone line!

If this suggestion hits home, please give it a try!  I would love to hear from Busy Bee readers interested in this idea and how you plan to implement your “jar!”