Listen to your Child While Talking to Them
Sonia came back from dance class & was
feeling very low. She was not able to learn a new step which almost everyone in
the class was through with. As soon as she reached her mother started giving
her speech about keeping her room tidy. She actually wanted to share her misery
with the mother as she was having an acute feeling of sadness & defeat. But
things were not according to her. This landed her in a place of feeling lonely
& ignored. Well, the characters & situation may be different but the
emotions are the same everywhere.
The art of Listening
Many parents think they do give adequate
attention to their child. However, it is not just your presence but also your
body language which tells the truth. Whenever your child is trying to tell you
something, take care of a few finer aspects. This will help you have a stronger
bond with them & help them to share their life with you.
· Maintain
eye contact
· Don’t
push them for more details
· Keep
steady expressions unless required
· Don’t
interrupt
· Don’t
pass comments unless asked
· Refrain
from giving unwanted advice, unless asked
· React
only if you are expected to
These are very important things when your
child is confiding in you for anything. Even if we keep silence, our
expressions say it all. So you should stay steady & non-critical while
listening to your child always.
Encourage them to talk by Talking
Sometimes our own way of conduct instils
certain personality traits in our children. Many of us don’t share much with
our kids. We keep our professional & personal things to ourselves. Certain
issues which we are handling at workplace stay in our hearts & we
deliberately keep our kids out of family complexities. I believe this is not
appropriate. At the right age when they have developed adequate capabilities to
weigh various situations, they should be aware of. Without transferring the
heavier part & sorrow of the matter, we can always share information about
such incidences with our kids. This will encourage them to share their part of
stories very often.
We often think that our kids are still small
& are yet away from the miseries of life. This might be true but partially.
Actually every age has its own associated issues & challenges. Their issues
may seem small to us but that is their universe. Be a companion of your child
wholeheartedly & share their feelings without being critical. If we can
bridge this gap, there is nothing which can stop us from being their best
friend for a lifetime. Its important that we know how to talk to our children or how to interact with children.