Communication is the sending of information from one person to another. Before parents and their children can communicate, both must feel comfortable enough to do so. While their children are very young, parents should begin setting the stage for open, effective communication. Parents can do this by making themselves available to their children when they have questions or just want to talk. Furthermore, parents who provide their children with plenty of love, understanding and acceptance are helping to create a climate for open communication. Children who feel love and acceptance by their parents are more likely to open up and share their thoughts, feelings, and concerns with their parents.
Just the other day I was in a toy store, picking up a gift for my nephew for his birthday. I overheard a parent complementing their child for picking up a toy in the aisle, another child left behind. The parent quoted “Daniel, I appreciate you picking up that ball that was in the aisle that was an excellent choice you made”. The child however, made eye contact back with the parent and said “thank you, I did not want anybody falling or hurting themselves.”
Listening and observing the communication between the parent and child was an excellent scenario. The parent immediately gave praise to their child as well as making eye contact and observing what David did. When it comes to my own interactions with children, I will do is keep my conversations brief. Primarily because, the goal is for us to pass on information a little at a time while checking to see if the child is paying attention to what is being said. We should let the child decide when enough is enough. We can look for clues that the child has had enough. Some clues include fidgeting, lack of eye contact, distractibility, etc. We need to know when to communicate with the child, because what they have to say is just as important. Often times too, we are distracted when the child is talking.
Tree of love
This was a gift given to me on my last day of student teaching in Leesburg, Ga by the students and my master teacher in May of 2010. I treasure this gift because it reminds me of the passion and the ambition they felt for me.
Hi Tanya,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great example you were able to observe! You are right, the parent was good to acknowledge and praise the child immediately after his action of picking up the toy; this was probably very affirming to the boy.
I agree with you, when there is an environment of love and acceptance, children will probably be more willing to open up. You make a really good point that parents "set the stage" for communication with their child from a young age. How a parent communicates with a child influences so much-the child's development, relationship with the parent, etc. And this starts from infancy! If a child has a loving, accepting, and safe environment and effective/appropriate communication is used, healthy development and communication skills can be fostered. Even if we are still learning the best way to communicate with young children we can still begin by limiting distractions and taking the time to truly listen. Great post and observation, thanks for sharing!