The Top 10 Tips for Communicating with Children

1. Draw children out to speak about the things on their minds.

   You can 'prime the pump' by talking with them about their favorite foods, toys, movies, video games, etc.

2. Verbally reflect the emotions of a child before giving in to your need to teach them something.

   Parents are constantly making the error of educating their child when their child expresses pain. "I hate my nose" is often responded to with, "you have a perfectly good nose" and the child is left to feel all alone with what could become an enormous problem for them in years to come.

3. Teach your child to wait instead of interrupting your conversations.

   One technique is to teach your children to lightly touch your arm and to wait peacefully and quietly to be acknowledged by you. Children who interrupt miss a chance to learn to control their impulses and can upset the flow of an adult's conversation.

4. Play little games whenever you see children.

   For example, you could put something such as a coin in a hand behind your back and ask the child to guess which hand it is in. This is a way to build a strong connection with a child and make a child feel honored.

5. Lower yourself physically to a child's level by sitting down, bending down, or sitting on the floor.

   It may have been months since any adult has joined the child on their own level.

6. Hold and play with a child's toys or - continued below ...