this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2024
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submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by yokonzo to c/[email protected]
 

I'm starting to reconnect with some of my old friends from high school but they have a 5-year-old now and I want to make a good impression but I don't really know how to interact with children. Do I just like ask them what their favorite Disney movie is or something?

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[–] idiomaddict 6 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I hated it when adults would crouch to talk to me, but I don’t know how common that is.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] idiomaddict 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah, I try to get on their level without crouching.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Me too, it was like the equivalent of the clown fear some people have. Like, why are you acting this way? It's weird, you seem weird

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If some giant towering over me would sudddenly get right in my face not respecting my personal space talking in a cutesy voice I would hate it too. Maybe the giant has bad breath and/or is asking me inappropiate questions like if I have a girlfriend yet or to come and hug him. I would be terrified.

Getting down to eye level to talk to small children is the norm in early childhood education. While getting my Montessori training, we had a special portion of the program learning how to appropiately adress children in a respectful way to invite them and engage in x or y activity. Even where we had to sit to teach a lesson depending if the child is left or right handed. Small details are very very important.

[–] idiomaddict 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

My mom was a Montessori teacher, maybe that’s why it happened so much πŸ˜‚

It always felt like we were going to have a very serious conversation and it felt condescending somehow (I now recognize that, at the time I just felt annoyed). I had unmanaged ADHD and liked to wander off, so perhaps I was having those conversations way more often, but I never liked it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Lol yes to the "very serious conversation" bit, my kid would geta stern look at times and I always thought it was because for them, I was on "teacher" mode, very serious.