Let a child finish the sentence
Adults complete children's sentences constantly, and the child learns that their version was not worth waiting for.
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The BeingKind editorsPublished How this is written
Why it lands
Children think slower than adults talk, and the gap is filled almost automatically — by parents, by teachers, by anyone impatient. The message is consistent and unintended: your telling of this is too slow to be worth hearing. Children who are routinely interrupted stop volunteering things, which is exactly the habit parents complain about a decade later.
How
Count to three in your head when they pause. Do not supply the word, even when you obviously know it. If someone else jumps in, hand it back: “Sorry — you were saying?”
Answer if you want. It changes which ideas are shown first.
What happened when people did it
I listened and he shared... simple things matter
Someone
It was good to see the positive reaction from the kid that I was willing to stop and let him finish the sentence and hear him out.
Someone, Seattle
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