Communication – the art of connecting

Be honest with what you feel and convey it in a way that it reaches out clearly. This skill is often challenging for us as adults. We look up ways to better our communication every now and then. So naturally, its importance doubles up while we develop this skill in our children. What we define as communication for our kids becomes their life long pattern.And to make the learning as best as we can, let’s understand the process of communication and how it works for our little heads.

Developing linguistic skills

The primary medium in which a child communicates is language. What words to use, the ways of saying, correct intonations to express moods – these form an important part of child behaviour. Usually these skills are developed in a child by observing how people around them talk. So a good tip here is to be sharing and more expressive towards each other’s communication.Ask you kids about their day at school, insist on their sharing about how they perceive things and help them shape up a good outlook towards situations.

Expressing physically

To make your child receptive, open and flexible, even in their thoughts, it is important to help their bodies express. To free up their bodies and learn how to physically express,play some role-play or drama games with them.If possible, enroll them for a drama class which will help them in physically loosening up, while having a lot of fun.

Communication is a two way process

An important key lesson of positive parenting is to respect your child’s opinions.We must treat their insights as equally important as ours. We are used to guiding our children with step by step instructions. This leads to the child feeling that their thoughts and opinions are not important and they should simply do what you want them to do.Instead, ask them open-ended questions and let them decide for themselves. This develops a healthy behavioural pattern in your kids.

Stay Affirmative

We often come across the quote “we create what we focus on.” It is true even when we are parenting. To develop a positive child behavior, use affirmative sentences while talking to them. Instead of “Don’t leave your room messy”, try saying “Please clean up your room.” Such communication focuses on the positive outcome of a situation, instead of a complaining gesture towards it. Learning this helps the kids in nurturing an optimistic approach towards situation.