Once simple necessity to increase our effectiveness in working with kids

I once watched a very highly skilled magicain deftly performing his magic for children attending a festival. He produced numerous doves, silks, eggs and many other examples of wonderful sleight of hand. Unfortunately, his performance did not really engage the kids.

What did I notice in particular about his program that seem to be a stumbling block for him? Simple. He really didn't seem to genuinely love kids. While his magic was stunning, he missed connecting emotionally with his audience because he seemed to just tolerate them. I've been a volunteer youth leader with numerous organizations over the past fifteen years. I also worked with kids in therapuetic settings and 10,000 or so (who knows?) kids in my shows. I believe that to be most effective when working with children as a librarian, performer, teacher, youth worker or anyone involved with kids, we do need to show that we sincerely care about them and love them. They can tell whether we care about them or not. It makes a difference to children, and that's what it's all about.