Tips On Communicating With Your Child For A Happy Family Life. The nature of a parent child relationship is largely based on how well they can communicate with each other. In fact, communication is an important parenting skill even before children learn to speak and express themselves fully. The way you communicate with your child will affect their self-esteem strongly. Whether you are parenting a teenager or a toddler, communication is critical. Here are some tips to help you work on healthy Parent Child Communication and all-important parenting skill.
In this article:
Body Language Basics – First Step towards Healthy Parent Child Communication
Non-verbal communication is everything conveyed by people without using words. It makes up 93% of all human communication. So, your physical movements and facial expressions are more critical to your parenting skills than the things you say.
Carefully consider what you do while talking to your kid. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Lean towards them to show interest in what they’re saying
- Avoid frowning unless the issue warrants it
- Show your appreciation. A pat on the back or knee and touching or holding their hand is the perfect body language for this.
- Avoid using your phone, reading the newspaper or watching TV when your child wants to talk to you
- Try to ensure that you and your kid have some privacy while talking, it will encourage them to open up to you
- Don’t embarrass them in front of others or even in private. Doing so will only lay the foundation for and unhealthy parent-child relationship.
- Physically, try to adjust yourself to your child’s height so you don’t seem imposing
- Avoid talking to your child while you’re angry, especially if your anger is over something they’ve done
- Let your child know when you’re tired. Body language inspired by exhaustion can easily be mistaken for disinterest.
Minding Your Verbal Communication
Communication with a peer group is always very different from that with elders as well as juniors. Understanding the nuances of verbal communication will greatly improve your general parenting skills and help strengthen the parent-child bond. The following things will make a highly positive change in your parenting style, too.
- Encourage your child to speak to you often. Irrespective of their age, make it a habit to take them out for coffee or to simply take a walk. Spending ‘alone-time’ shows your child that you care about whatever is happening in their lives.
- Don’t interrupt your child when they’re saying something. If you do, they may grow distant from you and stop sharing things openly. It will also teach your children to be courteous towards anyone they interact with.
- If you have been told that your child has been involved in something wrong, confront them directly about the issue. Spying on them, checking their phones, eavesdropping or seeking information from other sources are all highly detrimental to your parenting skills and your relationship with your child.
- Don’t label your child. No matter how big their mistake may be, one action alone cannot make a person “stupid” or “useless.” Don’t undermine your child’s self-esteem with dialogues like “because I said so” or “what do you know, you’re just a kid.”
- Appreciate the effort when your child tells you something that must be tough for them to share with you. Every once in a while, appreciate the very fact that they share whatever they do with you.
We don’t hold back from showing our anger and displeasure even if our children know what they’ve done will make us angry. Very few parents take the time to express their love and appreciation the way they show anger. Good parent-child communication is an important parenting skill especially because of this.
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