The importance of teaching children to listen
Why sometimes it seems that we do not they listen? Do they really understand us? The problem is that they do not pay attention to us? They are warned not to do something and two minutes later they do so, as if these words had not come out of their parents' mouths or had gotten lost in the way of the child's hearing. And no, it is not that there is a hearing problem that prevents the reception of the message, it is simply that the minor does not know hear. But parents can help them and teach them to listen.
Why it seems that children do not listen
You have to try to understand the children. In the early ages People have a whole world to know and a lot of curiosity. For this reason it is not surprising that they do not stop to listen to the words of the parents. His desire to explore, play and have fun make many times the messages of parents are lost along the way. They receive too many inputs at the same time.
It can also happen that the message that reaches them does not interest them and disconnect or even get angry making all dialogue impossible. It is in these cases where it is necessary to act with greater firmness since normalizing these situations can trigger unacceptable behavior in children. In either case you have to teach children to listen to what an adult tells them.
Techniques to teach children to listen
Teach to listen to the little ones is very important. Making them understand the need to care for others to know their opinions, feelings and knowing when they have been wrong is something that should be present in their education. To achieve this, you can resort to several methods, these are some ideas to stimulate listening:
- Accompany the dialogue with gestures. Sometimes a word can be lost compared to the rest of the scene, however some gestures such as frowning or making a movement will help to capture the attention of the little ones.
- Never let interrupt. Sometimes, we are talking to the child and suddenly interrupts without asking permission to speak. This attitude should be reprimanded immediately and remind him that it was not his turn and that he should attend to what we say. This should also apply in those moments where the adult dialogues with another person and their child suddenly gets into the conversation.
- Eliminate distractions If you have to say something to children, you have to opt for occasions where the elements that distract them are not present. In this way, if we want to talk with the little ones, we must avoid reading, having the television on or playing, as this will make it more difficult for us to ignore them.
- Look at them to them and ask them to look back. In this way not only will there be auditory contact, there will also be a visual connection that will make it more difficult for the child to divert his attention to other matters. It is a way to work active listening.
Damián Montero
