Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/docia-shares-a-story-about-communicating/5009332/
It was a special day and we invited an elderly friend to have dinner with us. She sat next to Ann, who was then four years old. Ann said to her, "You smell nice." Our friend, pleased, said, "Thank you, Ann. I have on my new toilet water." Ann looked at her for a moment and said, "You gotta be kiddin'."This incident came back to me when Rose Honda said she told a group of children that it was such a nice day they were going to have a picnic lunch under the tree. One little girl asked, "Miss Honda, how are we going to get under the tree?"
We take for granted that young children always understand what we are saying to them. They don't. In fact, they are often puzzled; they look to the adult for interpretation and answers - like I did when I was little and someone told me it was raining cats and dogs!
Sometimes our message isn't clear to adults either. I once asked a student intern to flush a child's soiled pants in the toilet after changing her. Later, when I said that if she gave ...