Being open to new things, this, is how parents can relate to their children better, like this mother did, translated…
Awhile ago, the mother of a student called, and asked me about the time slot of her son’s exams; I’d told her that she could ask her own son, he could tell her more precisely, but this mom told me, that because her son was too into the computer games, she’d, banned him from using it, and ever since, he’d given her the silent treatment, and even after counseling, the situation still didn’t improve, as she’d talked about it, she’d started, crying.
After hearing her, it’d, reminded me of how I’d, interacted with my own children, and am glad, that no matter what, my children would, share with me, we didn’t need to be enemies; but, this was, because I was, willing, to, give up the authoritarianism of parents too. I wouldn’t nag, or scold my children, willing to hear them out, that way, I’d understood, what was in with them now, what they liked, and what specialty jargons they’re, using.
I have two sons, I’d not only known what they enjoyed doing at every stage of their lives, and I can even, carry on the conversation about the games they are playing too. By the same token, they’d understood, that I don’t know about the high-tech gadgets, but dreamed of drifting out with my laptop, they’d, bought a lighter, a very functional laptop for me as a Mother’s Day present, so I get to, write my inspirations down as they come to me.
We can also talk about the sports, I not only know what stars are playing the games, I also know the jargons, and the rules of the basketball games, so, as an almost sixty-year-old, “elderly woman”, I can be on equal basis with the two of them, father and son when they watched NBA, my husband even thought, that having me there watching the games with him, was more interesting!
Cars are also, boys’ favorites, my second son in high school told me he wanted to design the heavy motorcycles, and wanted to buy one too, and although, he couldn’t live out this dream of his, it’d, made me started paying attention to related information, and I knew the difference between the yellow and the red plates. Sometimes, as I saw a young man dressed up, riding out on a heavy motorcycle, I’d imagined how my son would look doing that, and, there’s, only one word that would describe that vision of him in my mind: handsome!
Every time as I’d talked all about the cars and motorcycles with my younger coworkers, they were all very shocked, and, I owe it all, to my two sons.
And so, by being open about the things that your children were into, that opened up the door to communication between you, and, it reduced the generation gap, and your sons are close to you, because they know, that their mother is, willing to open herself, to new experience, and they’re, more than likely, to share the goings-on of their lives with you too.
Life, the Obstacle Course 