The word is certainly not new to you.

Since I set foot in Switzerland for the first time and have been appreciating it ever since, this word has made my adult and mother’s heart rise again and again: when strange children greet me with it, just like that.

How do you manage, dear Swiss, that your children also greet strangers naturally and with such warmth?

When hiking in the Swiss mountains, I find that adults are also great at it – more so than in other countries that I know. I also feel that I belong there, that I am perceived, that I am part of it. Thanks for that.

But on the way and off the hiking trails, especially outside of the big cities, I observe this greeting from strange children.

How nice is that.

How easy is it to make people smile. I really enjoy it when children just say hello to me on the go.

Most of them are alone, so obviously nobody forced them.

Just like a recent scene in a relatively small town near Schaffhausen:

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I step off the train and my adult mind is already on the road to further planning as I cross a zebra crossing (and realized again that in Switzerland zebras must have yellow stripes instead of white) to end up on the footpath.

I perceive a group of young people with bicycles accommodating towards me and think first of safety or of making space for them.

And then follows a “Grüezi” or two at the same time – Grüezis with eye contact.

A group of about 14 to 17-year-olds, who may have come from sports or a school event, split into about five small groups

After the first two greetings, I take off my headphones to simply receive this situation: how nice it is when youthful strangers greet you with warmth.

So I enjoy more “Grüzies”, eye contact and warmth at the same time, until the group passes.

I turn and send a quiet thank you and a smile to this group.

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I thought of what I also wrote in my #book about greeting strangers – and let myself be touched again by this casual way of children to perceive strangers.

I have already reported here on LinkedIn about the “HELLO” between us adults as a door opener. Link to the post see below 👇🏾

And I ask you today, dear Swiss:

🔸️How do you manage to get your children and young people to greet you so well and touch hearts on the go?

🔸️And where does this great quality fall by the wayside on the way to becoming an adult?

Because although my greetings are consistently returned, greetings are rarely just like that. At least that’s my experience.

How is it in your country or in your adopted country: do children and young people also say hello as a matter of course?