Tip's for communicating with Young Children

Have you ever turned to your child and asked " How was your day?"
Well that's appropriate for your spouse but, when it comes to your children there just so superficial. Children usually respond "Nothing" or "Play all day". an older child may respond as "just the usual". All of these answers leave the parent disatisfied that their children just aren't sharing the details of their day. Parents can change their techniques, (1) pick a quite time to chat about the day after your child has settled at home. (2) ask the right questions to stimulate a conversation with your child. Here are some sample questions you might ask your child at dinnertime,bedtime, orin between to hear the details of your child's day at shool or day care:

"Did any thing funny or silly happen today that made you laugh?"
"What one thing did you learn today?"
"Who was your best friend today? What did you do with you friend?"

Here are some tips to keep open the door of communication with your teenager.
Try to have coversations daiily or weekly in which everything else is put on hold.
When having discussions about difficult topics, such as curfew, house rules, and so on, keep yourself calm. Listen to your child's viewpoint, offer to negotiate or bend slightly over inor issues, and stik firmly to the rules that matter most.
When you child is blatantly hostile or disrespectful to you calmly end your participation in the conversation until later.
Find mutually enjoyable activities that are conductive to catting to ensure you have some noncontroversial, lighthearted conversation each week.
Infant
Newborn baby is studying language by listening to the voices around her.
Daily Opportunities
Respond to your baby in a positive way
Talk with your baby throughout your day together.
Show your pride and hoy at your baby's smiles and giggles
Express the love, apppreciation, and delight you feel toward your baby in words.
Read stories, sing songs so she can experiences the rich variety of ways to communitcate.
When your baby babbles, shatter right back to him so he can begin to understand that communication is back-and-forth language.
Play peek-a-boo for pure joy of communication.

Toddler:
Most young toddlers can use simple words to express their immediate needs and wishes.
Daily Opportunities
Talk to your toddler throughout your day
Read books, sing songs, tell stories, and recite poems and nursery rhymes.
Encourage your toddler to ask questions.
Have fun with language.
Provide toddler-safe crayons.
Provide a toy telephone for practice at talking.
Relax about mispronunciations; they are still learning.
Ask questions and be patient while waiting for a response.
Encourage your toddler to "use words to tell me what you want" when she is frustrated.
Be a good role model.

Preschool
Your child will learn to express herself in complete sentences.
Daily Opportunites
Take time to talk each day.
Include your child in family conversations at the dinner table.
Have fun with language, play word games, read stories, invent stories, sing songs.
Provide safe makers, crayons etc..
Encourage your child to use words to ask for help, express his feelings, and share his ideas.
Find patience to answer your chil'd many questions.
Encourage your child to express feelings with words.
Be a good role model.

School-Age
Because school-age children are out in the world they will learn how other adults and children ourtside your immediate family communiicate.
Daily Opportunities
Spend some time each day in relaxed conversation.
Encourage lively, noncontroversial converations at dinner.
Encourage your child to use words to solve problems and express feelings.
Read to your child or tell stories.
Provide paper, pens for expressive projects.
Encourage your child to write poems, stories and letters.
Expose your child to a variety of expressive music. Have conversations about how it make you feel.
Be a good role model.

Preteens/Early Teens
Preteens have a wonderful command of langauge. Debate and argument become a part of communicating.
Daily Opportunites
Be available to chat with your child each day.
Initiate friendly conversations, show respect.
Encourage your child to express feeling in words.
Encourage your child to use words to solve problems, seek information, and ask questions.
Provide your child with a dictionary, a thesauraus and teach them how to use these resources.
Encourage your child to write poems, stories, journals, and letters.
Provide opportunities to listen to music, attend dance recitals, and exprerience other expressive and creative ways of communication.
Set limits surrounding respect when engaging in debates and discussions.
Encourage your child to read for pleasure.

Teens
Teenagers are still leaning the rules of good communication.
Daily Opportunities
Spend relaxed, one-on-one conversations that value your child's thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
Help your child learn to communicate in new situations that arise: interviews, solving problems.
Recognize and praise your chil's efforts to talk through problems.
Help your child gain confidence for public speaking.
Encourage your child to find creative outlets for expression: visual arts, music, theater, debate team, writing.
Set limits about showing respect when engaging in debates and discussions.
Help your child understand the need for words of kindness and appreciation to others.
Be a good role model use language to find answers to questions, solve problems, and deal with anger and hostility in the family with-out hitting or damaging property.

Find more great Everyday Opportunities for Extraordinary Parenting by Bobbi Conner, Host of Public Radio's The Parent's Journal.