Tips for Understanding Your Child through Language 

Good communication is also a key to understanding your child better. Do not be surprised at how your child could be. These days, children know how to use misbehavior and annoying habits just to raise parents’ ire. It is not good to declare an all-out war with your child. Instead, it is always best to build and maintain a harmonious relationship to keep the parent and child relationship healthier and flourishing. 

Here are some tips on how you could better understand and control your child. It is not effective to be always ill-tempered and impulsive. Read on.

First, be genuinely familiar with the language used by the child, especially during times of conflicts and confrontations. Try your best to familiarize yourself with your child’s accent, choice of words, and diction. Try to understand that as an individual, your child would eventually acquire and use his own speaking style. Being familiar with his own language could enable you to accurately decipher his message. Some children may not be knowledgeable or able to express real thoughts and emotions. 

Second, learn how to accept the full emotional range of your child. Try to learn how to accept the emotions and feelings of your child especially as he speaks. As you succeed in understanding your child and his emotions, you may start guiding him to effectively express his unpleasant and unlikely feelings in an acceptable and appropriate way. Do not discourage him from telling what he really feels. Suppression of emotions and feelings, as you know, could not be healthy in the long term. 

Third, do not interrupt your child whenever he speaks. It is good if you would actually show him proper courtesy to people. As he speaks, let him finish what it is he is saying. Explain and make him realize that interrupting any speaker is rude. This is also a way of instilling him some part of good values. 

Fourth, always strive to be approachable. As much as possible, your child should not grow distant from you. If you are approachable enough, he would not hesitate to approach you to discuss any problem or requests. Do not make your child feel and think as if communication is hard. It is advisable if the child would realize that good and open communication between him and you is always possible. Whenever he communicates, do not make him feel avoided, ignored, or neglected. 

Fifth, ask questions so you could gather further information. It is always advisable to ask good and light questions especially if you are confirming your thoughts. However, try not to sound as interrogating and as intimidating as possible. Try to ask questions that could really solicit honest and direct answers from your child. Do not scare or annoy him though any of your inquisitions. Always observe kind and pleasant manner so you could help your child bolster his self-esteem and confidence. 

Lastly, provide good, helpful and assuring responses or answers to your child’s every question. It would be helpful if you would apply reflective listening. This way, you could have a clear and actual grasp of what it is your child is trying to tell you. Reflect on his words and the manner by which he talks. You could get a lot of clues and answers from them. Understanding your child entails setting a good and open communication between you and him. 

 
