Communication with Children and Parents.

In todays world children are finding it hard to communicate with their parents.I will be discussing steps to improve the communication process between children and parents.Listening is one of the most used activities of daily living.Listening is a learning process for both parents and children it is a combined effort by both.As indicated in my previous blog there is no manual that prepares us for parenting therefore this is a learning process for both parents and children.

Some of the reasons why children may not listen to their parents may result from:

Children have poor attention span.

Children complain that parents cut them off before they are finish expressing themselves.

Childen assume what parents may say before approaching them so they dont even bother to talk to their parents.

Children say parents are dictators.

Children believe parents donot understand their thoughts,feelings and views.

Children say parents are critical and nagging.

However with all this said we can improve communication with our children.The above mentioned issues are just a few of the issues that children may have with their parents.

Some suggestion to improve communication are:

Start teaching listening skills early.Parents can have a family session where different topics may be disscussed and feedback is encouraged by all family member this is just one of the many ways to promote active listening.

Listen to our children the way we like to be listened to.Parents should give children their undivided attention this makes them feel important and may make them want to listen to you when you listen to them.

Donot cut children off when they are speaking always respect what they have to say it does not mean we have to agree.

Communicate with children that they should feel free to talk to you anytime they want.

Tone is a very important part of communication avoid talking down to children.

Try assessing the subject from their view point to understand how they feel.

Rewarding children for active listening so they feel a sense of pride.

These are are just a few tips to improve communication between parents and children hope you found it informative.