Blah, Blah, Blah......

Hey everyone I hope you are all well.

Over the past 12 - 18 months I have been listening intently to every conversation I have had and I've noticed an increase in the use of the word BLAH. It is usually used in a sentance with teenagers and young adults giving you detail about a converstation they have had with someone else.

Conversations that go something like this:

"So I was talking to (so-and-so) yesterday and they were telling me that they went to work and blah, blah, blah, and when she got there her manager was in a horrible mood and decided to let her have it." He was all like, "why aren't you here 5 minutes before your shift starts and blah, blah, blah." and she was like, "well why should I, I'm here ontime and ready aren't I and blah, blah, blah."
Or
"My teacher was so mad at me today." She was like, "where's your homework, blah, blah, blah," and I said, "well I didn't know it had to be done today, blah, blah, blah so I'll bring it tomorrow." She was like, "You better, blah, blah, blah."

My question is.....what is the blah, blah, blah. I'm beginning to believe that there is something in the blah's of our conversations and as parents it's our job to draw that information out of our children. Perhaps we need to increase our level of conversation in terms of vocabulary. Maybe there's nothing in the blah, blah, blah's however I can't help but see that we are missing large chunks of stories and information that will assist us in our guidance and wisdom as we parent.

As a child, teenager and young adult I wasn't allowed to say words like Ain't, Idiot, Mental, or any profanities (that my parents heard anyway) and if caught doing so I knew about it. My parents stressed strong verbal communication and I know that I am a better communicator, both verbal and non-verbal because they didn't put up with slack or lazy communication methods. As a parent myself my husband and I do not accept many slang terms in our home or things like:

- It's pardon me? Not what?
- Crossing of the arms
- Rolling of the eyeswhat (mum's be careful, kids usually pick this up from the women in the house....keep your eyeballs locked in position and use self control).

These are a few of the many things we do in our home to develop strong communication skills that will last a lifetime.

Speak to everyone in your home like you would like to be spoken to, lead the way (even when it's hard and your frustrated or at times hurt). Respect each other as learned individuals and pull out the mystery that I believe is in the blah, blah, blah's of our conversations.

Take care, stay well, stay happy and love one another.

Susan xoxo