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What might children teach us if we listened long enough to be changed by them?

After watching A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood during a family trip to Pittsburgh, Amber and Emma reflect on Fred Rogers’ extraordinary practice of presence: slowing down, honoring silence, remembering people, and treating children as people worth listening to.

Using the 3D Curiosity Cards, they move through Discovery, Discernment, and Devotion to explore childhood grief, adult joy, play, deep listening, curiosity, and what helps another person feel truly seen.

Emma offers a simple lesson when Amber asks how she knows an adult is really listening:

“They don’t interrupt.”

That opens a conversation about listening to understand instead of listening to respond, Amber’s tendency to stack questions, when curiosity can feel like interrogation, and why being present sometimes means resisting the urge to fix someone’s pain.

They also practice reciprocal witnessing, explore what it means to be “too much” and still belong, and consider how speaking life into another person can help them see something in themselves differently.

And Emma’s Chicken Nugget Wisdom?

Go outside.

Sometimes presence begins by returning to the world right in front of us.

In this episode:

•  Mister Rogers, intentional living, and the meaning of 143 
•  The ten-second gratitude practice 
•  What adults forget about childhood 
•  Play as joy 
•  Childhood grief and the need to be witnessed 
•  Listening without interrupting 
•  Listening to understand instead of rebut 
•  Curiosity versus interrogation 
•  Allowing silence instead of stacking questions 
•  Helping others feel seen, heard, and loved 
•  Reciprocal witnessing and speaking life 
•  Too muchness and finding your people 
•  Emma’s “Go Outside” Chicken Nugget Challenge 

Episode Chapters

 00:17 Pittsburgh Trip Talk
 02:20 Movie and Article
 04:19 Childlike Wonder
 07:30 Ten Seconds Gratitude
 09:55 Being Seen and Love
 11:48 Childhood Wishes
 15:27 Play and Joy
 21:07 Listening as an Adult
 27:07 Devotion Practice Ideas
 31:19 Witnessing and Speaking Life
 35:43 Too Muchness and Belonging
 36:37 Go Outside Challenge

Reflection question:
What helps you know that someone is truly present with you—and what might change if we listened to children long enough to be changed by what they say? 

Connect with Me:

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Website: www.aninclination.com

Like, Comment, Share, Engage
If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would love these conversations. Engage with the Curiosity Cards and ask the youth in your life about their experiences because you might be surprised by what you learn. Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments or on social media using #LivingIn3DPower. And, don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for next week’s conversation!