Kids can be quite intimidating sometimes. You’d better have a good starter to say to them when they stare at you because they don’t  have the patience to wait for you to get inspired. They will maybe  frown, maybe lower your self-esteem a little or maybe just annoy you.  Either way, if you can’t communicate with them you’re bound to charge  yourself with some negative energy. Things are not so dramatic but we  all remember a time when the clumsiness of talking to a kid left  you bummed out.

f you meet a friend with a child there’s a pressure for you to look  natural and friendly. But what if the kid frowns and puts out his tongue  in disapproval? Can you risk that? Sure you can wave your hand and  raise your shoulders as if to say that kids can me very mysterious. But  why not have something ready for them, a question or maybe even a treat.

And what if your own kid doesn’t listen to you? You can always grab a  kid’s attention with a treat but with their short span of attention you  better have something else installed to keep hold of it. Talk loudly  and try to make eye contact when you address the kid. A smile would be  best but that probably depends on the situation. Kids most likely  respond to questions closer to their own perception of reality. Ask  them about their adventures in the park and ask them about their toy  cars and barbies, maybe even give them serious advice about them. Being  serious and taking them seriously is very important because kids don’t  really like it when you talk down to them. You can joke and smile of  course but just like you would do it with a friend your age.

A classic but still a good starter can also be to ask him  about his age and his name. That way you might find some associations to  make with those details. Tell them your age too. That might be kind of  fun for them and sometimes inverting the roles of parents and kids in a  conversation can be helpful too. For example you can ask a kid where  he’s taking his parents and if it was time for their walk. That might  confuse him at first but either way your sense of humor will be  appreciated by the parents unless you’re the parent and then you can  have fun with your kid and sometimes actually let him think he’s leading  the walk.

Talking to kids can be very rewarding and relaxing. Some say it’s  just like therapy and that kids send out such positive energy. Talking  to them might just as well be a breath of fresh air amidst the tedious conversations we have during the day with the other grown-ups about daily stress or  other practical issues.