What is your body language saying to your children? What is their body language telling you? I had the honor of hearing Jan Hargrave speak the other day. She is one of four body language experts in the US. Jan Hargrave says we lie with the right side of our brains, so it is our left hand that gives us away. A person touching his nose, pulling at his ear or rubbing his eye with his left hand might be lying to you. Also, a person who, in any way, crosses any fingers might just be lying. That, she says, is a holdover(遗留物) from childhood, when we crossed our fingers to signal that we didn’t mean what we were saying. When children squint(眨) their eyes, move their body away from you, or can’t seem to make good eye contact, you may need to ask for a little more clarification.

But just as important, children learn early how to read our body language when they are conversing(交谈) with us. Here are some acceptance signals to let them know you are interested when they are talking to you. Lean(倾斜) towards them. Make good eye contact and smile. Open your arms. Let your hands relax with the palms(手掌) showing: an open, upward palm always show acceptance. If your legs are crossed, make sure you are not crossing them away from your child. These are important because they signal to your child that you are focused on them and are accepting and welcoming them into your world.

By paying attention, we can open those lines of important communication with our children and we can see the truth more clearly. I think it would be a mistake to use these tools to lie, but we need to be aware of the signals we are giving so we can show people that they really do matter to us.

小题1:According to Jan Hargrave, we can tell whether a person is lying by _______.

A．observing his/her left hand’s movements.

B．looking at how he/ she crosses his/ her fingers

C．observing whether he/ she uses body language

D．making good eye contact with him/ her小题2:We can learn from the passage that body language _______.

A．is hard to master for children

B．can be understood in different ways

C．may help improve communication

D．is more likely to hide the truth小题3:Which of the following does NOT show acceptance to people?

A．Smile while making eye contact.

B．Open your arms to them.

C．Relax your hands with the palms showing.

D．Cross your leg away from them.小题4:In the last paragraph, the author seems to suggest that parents_______.

A．spend more time with their children

B．learn to read and use body language

C．pay attention to family communication

D．try to prevent their children from lying