News & events

How to Communicate Well With Your Child

Proper and regular communication with your child can help with his/her overall development. It’s a way of enhancing and improving his/her language and social skills. It’s also a way for your child to feel loved because of the attention you give to him/her.

Communicating well with your child

To do a great job, it’s good to set a dedicated time for talking with your child. Family mealtime is a great opportunity for casual communication. Aside from a dedicated time, it’s also important to give undivided attention to your child. This means turning off the television, phones, computers and music. This way, you and your child can actually focus on the conversation and your quality time together.

Often, we think of communication as how to say the right words and when to say them. The emphasis is always on talking where we focus on how we talk. However, communication is a two-way process and might not even involve too many words at all. That’s because communication also involves active listening and body language.

You can use body language to show your child you’re listening intently and that you pay attention to him/her. Here it’s good to get close to your child when he/she is saying something (and also initiate and maintain eye contact). The key here is to let your child feel that he/she is important to you and this shows by having your words and body language consistent with your priority and intention.

Aside from your focus and aligned body language, communicating well also involves sustaining the conversation or interaction. You can do this by asking follow-up questions (e.g. “Tell me more about…”). Many times your child will find it hard to find the right words to express what he/she feels, which is why you should give him/her enough time to finish his/her sentences. This is good for his/her brain and language development.

This kind of regular interaction can help your child properly develop as well as build a strong bond with you. After all, communication requires time and regular communication with your child means you’re regularly spending precious time with him/her. This will clearly show your priorities as a parent.