We mentioned yesterday that little boys, at birth, have 11% less brain tissue dedicated to speaking and listening than little girls. That's the bad news. Here's the good news.
The brain, like any muscle, grows in the areas in which it is exercised most. If you want to grow a child into an adult who will express thoughts and feelings to you, a future spouse and future kids, you need to start today. Set the stage for open and caring communication. Model it every night. Try your best to practice compassionate communication.
For those of you with sons who don't like to talk, remember this: The more you talk together now, the more you will enlarge your child's capacity to talk later. Just because you aren’t hearing major significant lows coming out of your child's mouth every night doesn’t mean their brains aren't growing. The very act of listening will help his brain grow more capacity in the linguistic and phonics areas. Listening will also expand his capacity for emotional depth and care. And active listening - while turning the lows into intercessory prayer in FAITH5 - will also enlarge the areas of the brain that create compassion, empathy and understanding.