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Tips to Help Parents Learn How to Talk to Their Children
If a conversation is not engaging, children will tune it out. For toddlers and preschoolers, limiting conversations to a couple sentences allows a child to absorb information and respond better, too. Additionally, offering a one-sentence answer to a question may be much more effective than a long explanation. Children often like simple, direct answers. The length of conversational exchanges with school-age children can gradually increase over the years. Allow children space to respond and share their thoughts and opinions. Ask open-ended questions to engage children, such as "Why do you think that lightening bug glows?" or "Why do you think that dog is barking?"
Taking the time to listen to children, and even kneeling down to be on their level, encourages them and lets them know they are being heard. Asking specific questions not only helps you gather more information and increase understanding, but tells your child you are listening.
Children want to feel their opinion matters. Taking the time to see a situation from your child's point of view will help your conversation with him and improve your understanding of the situation and his feelings. Give children a chance to explain themselves, even if they are wrong. Letting them explain first helps you better respond to their reasoning, especially if what they thought was understandable, but not correct.