Helpful Tips for a Good Parent-Child Communication

When raising a child, communication is essential because you want to make yourself heard and understood but you also need to hear what your child has to say. A good communication means fewer misunderstandings and issues that are often seen in a parent-child relationship. If you fear that you are not talking to your child the way you should or you want to make them more confident about coming out to you, here are some helpful tips that will improve your parent-child communication.

Detect the tone of your discussion

When you start a discussion with your child and you don’t want it to turn into an argument, pay attention to the tone you and the child are using and see which is the direction the discussion is going. You can have a passive, neutral, or aggressive tone that will completely change the type of talk you are having so make sure you address with the right voice and volume that will make the child understand what you are saying without intimidating them or letting them take control

Active listening might work

When you want to talk to your child, start the conversation with questions about how their day has been, how is school or which are their newest hobbies. By allowing them to talk and to be listened to, you will increase their trust in you and you will show them that you are there to listen to them. This will make your child feel important and will make them more responsive to talking.

Try calming techniques

Most of the times, a simple talk between parents and children becomes a fight due to differences of view and opinion. In order to prevent things from going towards an argument, you need to calm down and explain yourself the best you can. Children tend to misunderstand or to ignore their parents, which can make them feel angry, and this is something you want to avoid if you want to improve your parent-child relationship. If you start raising your voice, take a deep breath, count to ten, or even stop the discussion until you are calmer.

Treat them with honesty and respect

Before shutting down in front of your child or starting a fight, remember that you used to be a child too and you often felt the need to be listened. The fact that they are younger doesn’t mean that you have to disrespect them and offering respect will increase your chances of gaining respect. Be honest with your child and admit your mistakes with the same ease as you spot theirs and they will be more willing to talk to you and find solutions to your problems.

Advise, don’t impose

Parents often label the actions of their children as wrong and try to force them to do things the way they personally like, which can ruin the child’s self-esteem and their opening to communicating. Even if you know that what your child is doing is wrong, try to convince them with arguments and not by forcing them to do something just because you know it is the right thing to do. If you do this, the child will no longer come to you for an advice or a simple friendly talk.