4 Easy Ways To Improve Your Parent-Child Communication

This post, How To Improve Your Parent-Child Communication, is being completely updated.

Have you ever talked with a child and not understood what they were saying?

Are you a parent of a child that you sometimes just don’t understand when they’re trying to tell you something?

Well, it happens to the best of us!

Parent-Child Communication

A child’s’ speech develops over time and even for those of us who are with our children the most, and should, therefore, be able to ‘always’ understand them, there are times when it just doesn’t happen.

I am with my little guy the most, so when he brings something up or wants to share something with us I am usually the first to understand him.

But there are definitely times when, even after he’s repeated it several times, I/we just have no clue what he’s trying to tell us.

And we all know how important communication is, right?!

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Communication will bring understanding and understanding will cause harmonious mutual relationships which can establish peace and stability.

∼Lobsang Tenzin

In other words, when we communicate with each other, we have a chance to understand each other. Which in turn can bring about peace.

When was the last time there was a misunderstanding in your household, family or at work simply because there was poor communication, or worse yet, there wasn’t any communication at all?

Have you ever noticed how frustrated a baby/little one can get when we don’t understand them?

Well, those tantrums can be minimized with one little trick!

Teach them this:

Say it a different way

Ask them to say it in a different way.

I had a Spanish teacher in high school who was always telling us this.

If you can’t say it one way, say it another.

I’ve always thought this was brilliant and I’ve tried the trick with my little guy and you know what?

9 out of 10 times it works. Whether he acts it out or uses different words we finally understand him.

Need help understanding your child? Try this one trick!

Here’s an example:

Try describing what a marshmallow is.

Instead of just being able to say marshmallow maybe you’d say it’s white, fluffy, sweet, spongy and round, rectangular, cylindrical shaped.

We did this just the other day.

He was trying to say ‘express’ and I just couldn’t understand it.

I asked him to say it another way and he explained the situation it was referring to (a cartoon episode) and I immediately understood!

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.

∼Hans Hofmann

Side note: This works well with those who may not speak your language too. Whether you’re traveling or you’ve met someone in your home country. Saying something in a different way can do wonders!

As great as this method is, there are of course additional practices that will help improve your parent-child communication.

Listening

Do you really listen to your child or for that matter your parents?

How often do you find yourself only half-listening?

Or have you trained yourself to listen for the most important part of a question/statement?

Are you sometimes wrong?

My parents sometimes hear my little guy wrong so he just keeps repeating himself, usually until I repeat it for him so that they hear/understand him.

Sound familiar?

I know it can get frustrating to always really be listening to your little one(s).

I know for me after a while sometimes you just have to tune them out, but it’s worth the time to listen to them.

It validates them, what they are saying and that they and what they are saying matters!

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Huh, even for us as adults!

Being involved/participating

How involved are you in your child’s activities?

Do you sit and watch their cartoons with them?

How about playing cars, trains, house, doctor with them?

What about playing their games with them, whether they be electronic or pretend, outside or inside?

Now, I know them having independent play is important and if they are at daycare or preschool we’re not with them all the time but that is the reason we need to have even more communication.

When we are involved it’s easier to have great communication.

Starting Your Parent-Child Communication

So to me, starting early is so important!

Not only for us, as the parent, to be and get in the practice of it but for our little one(s) too.

How early should you start?

Is your child still an infant?

It is never too early!

If they are still small, have you ever thought about teaching them baby sign language?

I did when my little guy was younger and it was great to be able to start that parent communication that early.

Not only that but I think it really did help my little guy feel empowered to be able to get his opinion/thoughts expressed even though he couldn’t verbalize them!

I only taught three (3): Please, Thank You and More. And even though it was only these three, I still feel like it was a great beginning.

And just in case you’d like a little more proof, here is a great article showing how you talk to your child helps with brain growth.

On The Flip Side of Parent-Child Communication

How well do you, as the parent or adult, communicate?

Do you talk with your child(ren) about events and situations?

Now, I’m not talking about discussions that are not appropriate.

But rather, explaining things.

Explaining

For example, when we knew we were going on a road trip, I made sure that in the weeks before the trip I was always bringing it up.

I reminded him of the trip and that we’ll be in the car for a long time.

That we’ll need him to be patient and that we will be able to play games and look at the scenery.

That we’ll stop for lunch after a few hours and then it’ll be nap time and if he takes a good nap we’ll only have a few hours left of the trip.

I’ve already started doing this for an upcoming trip that is 3-4 months away!

I’m not sure how young he was when I really started doing this but I know that even though he’s older, he still doesn’t truly understand the time frames and the situations, necessarily, but I think expressing expectations and letting them have time to process it helps!

I will let you in on a little story.

We were no further than 5 minutes from home, on our 7-8 hour road trip, when he asked if we were there yet!!!

My parents and I laughed and went through the conversation again about the length of the trip, the fun we’ll have while driving, stopping for lunch, etc.

We had to remind him a few more times but ultimately he did great.

So, whether he really understood or he’s just a good traveler I don’t know but I know one thing.

It doesn’t hurt to communicate with your child!

If anything it’ll help teach them to communicate too.

Do you feel like you have good parent-child communication? Do you think this method would work in your family? Please share with us in the comments so we can all learn. Thanks!!!

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