Aside from making our own lives easier, the benefits of nurturing our kids’ communication skills are hard to ignore: communication is essential for learning, and plays a huge role in developing a sense of belonging in the world. Having the skills to communicate thoughts, wants and needs is critical for wellbeing, and helps kids to develop positive relationships. The good news is, children are generally natural born communicators who are endlessly curious about the world. Our job as parents is to hone their skills so they enjoy interacting with others, and to help them through that tough phase of toddler life when expressing themselves seems impossible. With that in mind, here are three useful tips to help you get your little people talking, listening, and just getting along!
1. Play along and accept information from them (even when it’s nonsense)
Holding a conversation with a young child is harder than it looks! The first thing we all need to realise is this: it’s not just about engaging in conversation with kids, but learning how to allow them to take the lead. If we follow them instead of dominating the conversation, their confidence will grow. Our role is to improvise and move the conversation along based on their lead. There’s a purple unicorn sitting on the bus? Sure there is! Take that information, add something more to it, and just watch your little person beam with pride as they carry on the conversation.
Really, it’s just about enjoying the experience rather than focusing on the content. Sometimes kids share their thoughts and ideas based simply on a creative expression, an idea, or a fantasy, rather than logic. It’s important that parents accept, acknowledge, and affirm their child’s views, and just go along for the ride!
2. Silence is golden
The next trick is to not just bite our tongues, but also to really listen, and to show that we’re doing so. Kids often pay attention to how we are listening when they’re speaking – they’re more in tune with cues like eye contact, facial expressions, and gestures than we might think. We are their biggest role models after all, so it pays to demonstrate the skills of a good listener. Words only make up a small part of communication – truly effective communicators pay attention to tone, volume, timing and facial expressions. So, try to keep this in mind when chatting with your kids. Take the time to listen, and allow them the time to respond to your cues.
3. Encourage strong personal opinions
Of course, effective communication is not just about holding a conversation. It’s also valuable for kids to build the confidence to express their personal opinions with enthusiasm (which, we know, may result in some interesting battles at the dinner table, but it’s all in the name of progress!). The idea here is to give kids plenty of opportunities to explore and experiment with language so they ultimately feel encouraged to share their unique ideas confidently without fear of judgement. This is the time to acknowledge and affirm their views, and help them to recognise that their opinions are of value. It helps to involve kids in the decision-making process of day-to-day experiences, such as what the family should do together that day, or which bread is best for making the French toast – taking their suggestions on board makes them feel that their input matters.
If you’re keen to learn more about how to build strong communication skills in your kids, check out this Linguistics and Communication Discovery Workshop. It’s ideal for parents of kids aged two or three years, and will be held at Learning Vision at Kent Ridge (you don’t have to be a Learning Vision parent to join). The workshop will be led by Learning Vision’s experts, who will observe and analyse your child’s unique communication style to provide you with valuable insights. The last workshop filled up super-fast, so make sure you register early!
What: Linguistics and Communication Discovery Workshop for parents of kids aged 2-3 years
When: 12 November, 9am-3pm
Where: Learning Vision at Kent Ridge, 81 Science Park Drive, The Chadwick
Cost: Free!
Register here
This post is sponsored by Learning Vision.