As your child develop their communication skills, their influencing skills also develop. Effective communication is a great way to develop their social skills. Whatever the age of your child is, encouraging effective communication skills can help prepare them for a successful adulthood.
1. Talk about their interests
Discussing about your child’s interests is the best way to keep them talking. It does not matter whether their interest is in online games, computers, sports or cartoons. When you show interest in their interests, it becomes a great encouragement for them to communicate more. This also has an added adavantage of them sharing more about their lives with you.
2. A pat in the back
Kids pay attention to their small achievements. My 11 year old comes to me for affirmation of every single event he considers as his achievement. Most of the time, their achievements may not look like milestones to us. But, this is an opportunity where you could encourage them to speak more about their achievement. Ask them how they achieved that task, conquered that fear or solved that problem. This will not only help them to articulate better, but also help them to improve their self awareness.
3. Talk about current affairs
Current affairs and news are not directly related to us on a personal level in most cases. Discussions around current affairs will help your child to express their viewpoints without any inhibition.
Recently, I had a discussion with my kids regarding drug abuse. The starting point was an article that carried photos of people before and after they started using drugs. This not only helped them express their viewpoints, but also created awareness and general knowledge.
4. Involve your child in decision making
The joy of of being valued can stir up confidence from unknown corners. Involve your child when you make decisions, they will feel empowered to contribute more. Their first lessons of brainstorming start here. As part of this, they will also learn how to consider varying viewpoints while making decisions.
5. Share a meal
Don’t we meet people over a meal to have nice conversations, both on a personal and professional level? Dinner tables are great places to make people loosen up and share their views. This is also an inexpensive way to get your kids talk without inhibitions. Many studies have also proved that eating together helps children to form better relationships with their parents. Do you use the ‘Non-judgemental dinner table rule’? That is, you don’t ask challenging questions like “Why did you do that?” for any topic that is brought on to the dinner table. This will encourage your child to open up more. Do you have a dinner table rule?
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