Parent Guide 101: How to Communicate With Your Kids
Communication is essential in life. You need to know how to communicate your message effectively at work, in restaurants, in e-mails, with friends, family, etc., and sharing with your children is no different. Maria Montessori, the founder of Montessori Why Homeschooling Is The Best Choice learning, once said, “We are the sowers- our children are those who reap. We labor so that future generations will be better and nobler than we are.” It all starts with how we communicate with younger generations to make for a better and nobler generation. Your communication with your children is the most essential relationship you want to foster since your relationship with your children can have a positive or negative impact.
The way you talk to your child matters. Use your words to change your state. How you speak to a child can affect their self-esteem, self-worth, and how they interact with others. As a parent, it cannot be easy to communicate effectively with your children. After all, they’re growing and developing so quickly that their interests, concerns, and needs constantly change. Fortunately, some tried-and-true methods for engaging in meaningful conversations with your kids will help you stay connected to them as they grow. Here are some ways how to communicate with your kids:
Listen With An Open Heart
It’s easy to get caught up in lecturing or reprimanding our children when we get the opportunity to talk with them. It’s important to remember that listening is just as essential as speaking when it comes to effective communication with our kids. When we listen to our children with an open heart, we acknowledge that we understand and hear them, which allows us to connect on a deeper level. This allows our children to feel seen, heard, and understood. Also, this teaches them how to listen and communicate with an open heart.
Ask Them Questions
Ask how their day went and how they feel. Asking them questions about themselves allows them to get to know themselves and reflect on their emotions without fearing being judged. It creates a safe space for them to identify how they feel or feel in that moment and how they want to feel. This teaches them how to control their emotions and shift their mindset.
Be Present And Have Fun
Being present and having fun with your children cultivates a stronger parent and child bond. It creates trust, honesty, and transparency between the parent and the child.
The way a child communicates is a reflection of how you communicate with your kids and others. Suppose we show negative communication skills, such as criticizing, poor body language, reversing blame instead of taking accountability, and withdrawing. In that case, our children will follow suit, and poor communication will continue.
I learned the hard way that yelling and demanding children do not work. They need to respond better, if at all. The yelling made my children yell and command their younger siblings to do as they saw. Seeing them behave this way was something I was not proud of because I knew this was a way I communicated with them. When speaking with our kids, we must always approach them with respect, even if we don’t agree with them or believe they’re wrong about something!
Try not to raise your voice or become defensive if things become heated during a conversation—this will only worsen matters. Instead, try responding in an understanding yet assertive manner while allowing your child space for their own opinion. That way, both parties feel heard instead of invalidated by the other person’s presence or point of view.
It is essential to talk about our feelings positively by showing gratitude, taking responsibility when we are wrong, acknowledging our wrongdoings, and taking action to improve. My mom always told me that a child does not listen to you; instead, they watch what you do. Children learn more from what we do than what we say—so make sure your actions match what you’re trying to teach them! If you want your child to talk openly about their feelings or struggles, then you should lead by example and share some of yours too.
This helps create an environment of openness between parent and child where both sides feel comfortable talking about their emotions without judgment or criticism. This level of trust is essential in any relationship, especially between parents and their children. Therefore, effective communication with our children starts with us and how you communicate with your kids. We must know ourselves, identify our triggers, and change our negative emotions.
No two relationships are ever exactly alike—especially concerning parenting! But no matter how different each connection may be, some core principles for effective communication between parents and their children remain consistent across all families. These include actively listening, setting an excellent example for our kids, and always speaking respectfully toward one another. By implementing these how to communicate with your kids techniques into everyday family life, parents can ensure that the lines of communication remain open between themselves and their children no matter how old those kids may grow.