Communication is essential in life. Whether you are chatting to friends or talking to your boss, there is always a need to be able to share your ideas and make your opinion known.
For most people, communicating is not an effort and not something you even think about, that’s because you have learned the skill when you were young. It’s important that you pass these skills on and take every step you can to improve your child’s communication skills.
Wait When Talking
If you listen to adults having a conversation you will realize that people often cut in on each other. Before one person has finished the other will be answering or moving the conversation on. You cannot adopt this approach when talking to children. Whether you are making conversation or asking questions, always give your child 5-10 seconds to answer. This ensures they process what you have said and establish their own response.
Research suggests this approach can also reduce stuttering in children.
Avoid Over Correcting
Most of the sounds your child makes will develop naturally. If they say a word wrong when they are young you don’t need to correct them all the time. They will learn to say it correctly by themselves.
Let the error go and your child will remain a confident talker.
Get The Right Assistance
It is important that children attend a reputable pre-school facility, such as this Liverpool childcare center. This doesn’t just give them the opportunity to interact with other children and boost their social skills. They will be communicating with others and this will improve their ability.
Just make sure the center supports their conversational abilities and doesn’t overcorrect them.
Treat Them As Adults
You are not helping your child improve their communication skills when you talk to them like children. You need to use words that they will understand and then treat the conversation as you would with an adult friend.
That means using unspoken communication, hand gestures, etc., as much as your actual words.
Television In Moderation
Television and screen tie can be beneficial to a child, but only in moderation. The right programs can broaden their communication skills and level of vocabulary. Too much stops them from using their imagination and being able to communicate or entertain themselves.
Finding the balance can be difficult but the approach “less is more” is a good place to start.
Encourage Reading
Reading is a great way to boost their vocabulary and gives you the opportunity to ask them about the book they are reading. If they are very young, read to them but read from the pictures and encourage them to tell you what they think is happening.
This utilizes their imagination as well as boosting communication skills.
Complement Them
Everyone feels good when they get a compliment and your children are no different. Complement them several times a day for talking. You don’t need to be too direct, acknowledging they are using new vocabulary or that they have created a complex statement by themselves.
This will improve their communication skills and their overall confidence.
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