Here is a story that arrived in my inbox recently. I gather it was written someone called Roger Darlington. It is, I think, a salutary reminder to us all about the importance of listening.
Listening — at Christmas and always
A few years after I left my secondary school in Manchester, I was invited to help out with the school’s Christmas Fair and I decided to have a go at being Father Christmas. I had recently grown my first full beard and thought that I would enter into the role by rubbing flour into my growth. Though I say it myself, I looked rather splendid and certainly I attracted lots of custom.
I was enjoying myself enormously, bringing a sense of magic to so many young children, but I was mystified by one young boy who paid for a second visit and then astonishingly for a third. The presents on offer were really pretty pitiful, so I asked him why he was coming to see me so often. He answered simply: “I just love talking to you”.
It was then that I realised that, in many households, parents do not encourage their children to talk and really listen to them. This was a lesson that I have taken with me throughout my life. So, at home, at work, socially, always encourage family, friends, colleagues to talk about themselves and their feelings — and really listen.
Author: Roger Darlington
There are thousands of children, and adults, just like the little boy in this story, who just need someone to listen to them. So many families, around where I live at least, communicate with each other by shouting — how can a small child make their voice heard?
About Paul Sibley
Andrew Gosden (now 18) has been missing from his Doncaster home since 14 September 2007. The search continues.
Elizabeth Jackson on 
A good reminder–sometimes I’m distracted with dishes and facebook and housekeeping, and I need to listen to my kids more.
It’s all too easy to get caught up in doing things, and not making time to listen to others. I do it far more often than I should. Although it isn’t quite so noticeable now the girls are no longer at home.