subject: Effective Communication With Kids [print this page] Every parent eventually has to face the reality that they need to ask for advice on how to deal with some of the common problems involved in parenting. Naturally, you want your kids to be happy and healthy, right? But for many parents, communicating with a child is a challenge. After all, nobody teaches us how do to this in school.
To effectively communicate with our kids, we need to make sure that everything we say gets through to them and we should make sure that they really understand what we are trying to say. On top of that, there should also be an exchange of thoughts, ideas, as well as feelings from one mind to another.
The communication gap between parents and children begins when the child reaches the adolescent stage, or the teen years. During this time, there are many things that a parent should consider in order to keep the communication lines functioning properly.
Think about this: Even before a child can walk or talk, you need to foster an environment of love, trust, and security. If this feeling is sustained as the child grows, the lines of communication become quite strong. It doesn't happen overnight, does it? This is why it's so important to start communicating early. Encourage your child to be expressive.
Every child has the need to learn, as well as a need to get attention and feel a sense of belonging to the family unit. A child may rush towards his parents, from out of nowhere, to excitedly talk about something in his life. If we cut our kids off with irritation, or with an angry tone, that sense of excitement will be crushed.
For us adults, childish babbling about "unimportant" things may not seem very interesting. But by encouraging your child to communicate and express themselves naturally, you can create a pattern of communication. As your child grows, this will become valuable to you.
In order to communicate effectively with children, there are two things to keep in mind: patience and self control.
Most of the time, kids are giddy about everything around them. They shout out whatever comes to their minds. They will interrupt you while you are talking. Instead of shushing them with no explanation, it would be better to just stop and listen. Then, later, explain to them the importance of being polite. This will teach them, by way of example, just how important it is to be patient and controlled. This really does work. Just ask any parent who's used this technique.
