Talking To Your Child At Their Level

Posted on February 3, 2017

It is challenging to communicate with toddlers as they are still learning to speak in full sentences and not forgetting, they have difficulty understanding what the adults are saying to them.

It’s the parents’ duty to ensure the right signals and communication is given to their children by communicating with them clearly and effectively. One parenting ‘trick’ to attain these goals is for parents to crouch down to their toddler’s level when talking to them. This eye-to-eye attention helps toddlers to absorb what is told to them in a less intimidating manner as compared to adults talking down to them. This practice is efficient but yet, not a frequent act by most parents.

A marriage and family therapist at Relationship Matters, Swanie Khoo, explained how full attention is given to the child when the adult goes down to their level. It sends a strong message, “You are coming to me, you are important, and I want to respond to you”. Being emotionally present with the child helps to send a lot of messages to them.

Swanie mentioned how the first three years of a child’s life are critical to help in building a positive parent-child relationship as it will lead to the child’s desire to form emotional relationships with others as well as maintaining them in his/her later years.

Such relations help in building empathy, the child will learn how to be caring by modelling their parents’ care for them. This helps to positively discipline a child and talking to them in their level, is the start of building positive discipline as compared to shouting at them from a higher level.

By crouching down to talk to your child, involves active listening. In order to give your child positive attention and to build their confidence, listening, is an important technique.

By listening to your child, you are helping them to express how they are feeling by encouraging them to speak. Active listening – to stop whatever you are doing and go down to their level.

Communication is crucial even from young age. It is advisable for parents to communicate with their children as it forms positive bonding that will continue to a later age.

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Category(s):Child Development, Parenting

Source material from TODAY