Eye contact signals the ears are tuned in. Really good listeners are difficult to find. This skill requires time, focused attention, meandering conversations, and the ability to hear the feelings behind the words. Most good listeners have learned how to listen while doing things together-like cooking, camping, playing catch, driving to appointments, etc. Doing things together requires the investment of time and time is one of the most abused adult resources.
Involvement can mean lots of things, from tickling to teeter-tottering to traveling.
But, in whatever form it takes, it's a skill investment that pays great dividends. At the surface level, blessing is any expression of love and appreciation for the child. At a deeper level, blessing is acceptance and hope for the future, even in the midst of failure and disappointment. Truth is, many parents have not received the deeper level of blessing themselves, thus it's hard to know how to give what they don't have. This is a vanishing skill today's world.