How to improve toddler listening skills
My child doesnt listen to me! Show
She zones out in the middle of our conversation! He hears only what he wants to hear! What do I do?
Well, for starters, theres nothing to worry. Well explain why this happens and how you can turn your child into an active listener! When youre talking to your child, they often take part in selective listening meaning they have a tendency to omit a lot of the information you say to them Only what they think is relevant to their preferences, matters! YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 12 Good Habits Every Parent Must Teach Their Child And we really cant blame them! Children are filled with energy and are constantly taking in a lot of information. But its important to cultivate active listening skills in children from as young an age as possible. This will facilitate good communication skills as the child grows up. So lets now take a look at how to improve these skills in children 1) Be a good listener yourself:
When your child is talking to you or telling you something, no matter how irrelevant, make sure to respond or react to it. It also helps to maintain eye-contact and repeat everything your child tells you, to them, to express that youve fully understood what he or she is trying to say. And not just that Its also important for you to model positive listening skills / behaviour with other people too, especially when your kids are around. Kids learn by imitating adult behaviour, so respond to anything anyone says the way you would want your kid to respond to you. 2) Communicate with them:Whether youre cooking in the kitchen or working on your computer, tell your child what youre doing in a way that they would understand. Narrate to them the steps youre doing while youre cooking. Tell them about that work project you have (in simple terms, of course). Tell them about a conversation you had that day, or about any events during your day. Then proceed to ask your child about their day and get them to describe the events that took place. 3) Be clear while assigning tasks:Its very important to hold your childs attention by not over-explaining anything to them. Be short and crisp in telling whats expected of them or in giving them duties to fulfill. If youre giving your child a set of tasks to do, ask them to repeat everything youve said to ensure that theyve listened to and understood everything. 4) Converse about things that they find interesting:Make sure to communicate with your child on a regular, casual basis by asking them about recent events, friendships, and interests. Just talk to them like you would to a friend. Make sure any communication gap is bridged and give them the opportunity to do just that. 5) Get them involved in decision-making processes:
Try to avoid ordering them around and try to kindly imply something. For example, when you want them to wash their hands before eating and they just wont listen, tell them to read up on germs, infections, and how they spread. You could also suggest a few points as to how handwashing prevents these infections. If you are following all of these tips while making sure youre talking to your child, keeping their cognitive and understanding ability in mind, and your childs hearing ability is sound, they should listen to you. If they still dont listen to or comply with the things you tell them, it could be a sign of disrespect. In this case, its important for you to address the problem with your child and explain the individual consequences of them not adhering to any specific task you give them. They could also do with some listening skills practice. a) Listen together:To establish effective listening skills in your child, you need to provide listening cues that your child would be interested in listening to. For example, get audiobooks that your child can listen to while following the physical copy. You can also listen to the books together, pause in between and ask your child to sum up the events that took place until that point. You can also make your child listen to rhymes and music that give action/dancing commands that your child will have to follow (the boogie-woogie rhyme would be an example of this). b) Indulge in reading activities:When youre reading to your child make the storytelling a two-way process. Pause during the story and ask your child to guess what happens next. You can also ask the child what they liked most in the story up to that point, what they would change about the story if they had a chance to, and how they expect the story to end before reading the ending to them. Once theyre familiar with a story, you can re-read it to them later in the future and make a game out of it. Do this by reading a few parts of the story wrong on purpose and ask your child to indicate every time you make a mistake and to correct you. BONUS: 40 Fantastic Stories To Read With Your Child This Year > c) Play games:
Simon Says is another game which would involve you giving commands to your child and your child would have to listen with keen attention. The important thing with any of these games is to encourage the listen and respond action in your children. There are a ton of other such games you can play with your child, like telling them a colour and asking them to name or touch objects around them that are of that colour. You could also be creative and come up with your very own games. d) Engage in direction-oriented activities:
This can be applied to activities like sewing or teaching a sport, as well. Your child will have to listen to and follow your instructions in order to get something right, and so they will. PRO TIP: Activity boxes like Flintobox are also a great example of direction-oriented activities! In Flintobox, both the parent and the child sit together, follow step-by-step instructions, explore creatively and complete tasks thereby increasing the childs active listening skills. For more information on Flintobox activities, click here > e) Indulge in role-playing:Any form of theatre where the child has to learn the storyline and dialogues of any story that they like, complete with costumes and props, will encourage them to learn, react, listen, and respond. You could also watch childrens television shows or programs on the internet that involve viewer participation and urge the viewer to do activities, with your child. Another important thing to keep in mind when it comes to developing the listening skills / comprehension of your child is the very way in which you talk to them. So, how can we talk to kids in a way that they will listen to us?There are a few things you should keep in mind.
Conclusion:All in all, the first and foremost thing to keep in mind when it comes to boosting your childs listening skills, is that communication with your child is a two-way street. When it comes to communicating, you must always treat your child with the respect, consideration, and understanding that you would use with an adult your age. If you want your child to understand you better, you must make an effort to understand them better, too! |