The child showing you something ordinary is inviting you into the way they see it.

The stone or the leaf is not the point. A child holding something up is offering you their attention, which is the most valuable thing they have, and asking whether you will look where they are looking. What they learn from your reaction is not about the object. It is about whether their noticing is worth anything to the people they love.

Look at whatever is offered for longer than seems necessary, and ask one real question about it. Where it was found, or what made them pick that one. You are not pretending to be interested in a pebble, you are accepting an invitation into how somebody sees.