The Importance of Listening to Your Child

Sometimes the most difficult task is that of communicating with our children. The never ending battle of we're not listening to them and they're not listening to us. One of the most important keys in being a successful parent is that of being able to communicate with your child. Your child like any other person has feelings, views, and opinions. You should make sure that you sit with your child and discuss these things with your child.

With everything that goes on the adult world, we find that we react rather than respond to our children. This also leads us to judge on our own past feelings and experiences. When you respond to your child, it means that you are willing to respond to your Childs feelings and emotions and allow them to express these emotions to you without fear of being honest to you. When we react rather than respond we make our child feel that their opinions and ideas are invalid. When we respond to our children and ask why the child feels the way they do, it allows them to further discuss their feelings. By doing this, it also allows us the parents to better understand where they are coming from. Responding to your child provides an opportunity for you and your child to develop a plan of action together that they might not could have done alone. This will also let the child know that you really do understand their problems and how they feel.

In these situations giving your undivided attention is of the utmost importance. When a child comes to you with a problem they are having you should stop whatever it is that you are doing and listen carefully. Make sure to make eye contact so that they know that you are listening to them. You should remain calm, ask questions and offer any solutions to the problem if there are any.

Allow your child to show emotion. If they are feeling upset, angry, or frustrated, then allow them to show the emotion. Don't discourage it. If your child is feeling like this, then ask them why they are feeling this way. Try to offer help to dismiss the bad feeling.

Children have many similar situations, feelings, and bad experiences just as adults do. However minute they seem to us, they are important to the child. By hearing, listening, and participating with our children while they talk about their problems, we show them that we care about them and their feelings. Remember to respond not react.