Listen Up!

Over the next two weeks in Kindergarten, your child will be learning about the importance of listening. Often, impulsive children lack listening skills and do not look at the person talking or pay attention to what is being communicated. When a child doesn’t listen, it hinders their ability to learn and to react in a caring way to the other person.

Your child will learn that the most important part of listening is thinking about the same thing the talker is talking about. (e.g. If you are reading a book about Polar bears, your child should be thinking about Polar bears).

Here are some suggestions for helping your child learn to listen:

1. Say to your child, “I will know you are listening to me when you are looking at me and thinking about what I am saying”.

2. Tell your child how it makes you feel when they are/aren’t listening to you. Use “I” messages to talk about your feelings.

3. Have your child repeat what they heard you say.

4. When your child is talking to you, make sure that you are looking at them and thinking about what they are saying.

In this world of cell phones, multi-tasking and full-time jobs, our children are often trying to talk to us and we are busy doing something else. Please…..take the time to stop what you are doing and give all the people you interact with your full attention. Your children are watching you!