Listening To Children

Parents Listening To Children

• When you talk with others you take turns speaking and listening. Listening is hard to do. It is more than hearing sounds.
• Listening requires:
  • hearing what people mean as well as what they say
  • thinking about what is said rather than thinking about what you will say next
  • not jumping to conclusions
  • trying to see things from the other person's point of view
  • thinking about what is being said and not something else.
• Listening can be just as hard in the family as with friends! Different families and cultures have different views on listening. Some are taught it is polite to look at the person who is speaking while others think it is OK for several conversations to happen in a room at once.
• To help you listen try to:
  • look at the person who is speaking
  • turn your body to face the person who is speaking
  • turn off distracting noises such as the radio or television
  • encourage the person to speak without asking questions (questioning changes the way the discussion is going)
  • tell the speaker what they said using different words (you might even say 'So, you mean that . . .').

Parenting tips & parenting articles copyright & courtesy
Department for Community Devlp, Australia.

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