Build Communication Skills Early

September brings the end of lazy days, relaxed routines, and spending countless hours outdoors! September brings forth set schedules, appointments, and the constant rush, rush, rush to fit everything into our kids waking hours.

It’s Back to School season and here is a great article with some tips to help us to get back into the season and keep the lines of communication open with your child.

  http://thehighlyeffectiveteacher.com/essential-back-to-school-tips-for-parents/

At the end of a long day, you want to know what your child has been doing! Asking your child “What did you do today” might be met with “Nothing” or “I don’t know”, no matter the age of the child.   It’s important to keep communication open so your child feels comfortable talking about all aspects of their day, whether they have been good or challenging. Here are some tips to help extract aspects of your child’s day and keeping the doors of communication open.

·       Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer:  Instead of asking, “Did you have a good day?” try asking a question that requires more than a yes or a no like, “Who did you play with today?” “What was your favorite activity today?”. Be prepared to answer the same questions from your child too! After all, they wonder what it is you do when they aren’t around!

·       Know your child’s schedule: Know what activities are scheduled for what day. Which days are library days, music, art or gym. Knowing their schedule makes it easy to ask direct questions, “What book did you choose at the library?”, “Did you draw or paint in art today?”

When possible, ask your child’s teacher what activities or topics they will be discussing with their classroom. This gives you an opportunity to discuss what is going on in the classroom with your child while in the car or at the table during mealtime!

·       Use books as conversation starters: When reading books together, you can ask your child how they feel about different situations in the books. One book you could use to start a conversation is “First Day Jitters” by Julie Danneberg.  You can ask your child how they feel about their first day at school or first experience at an activity, and share how you felt on your first day of school or starting a new job!

At the end of the day, your children want to know you are there for them.  Listening to stories about their day complete with all its ups and downs is the first step in the keeping the door of communication open. When they know you are listening to the little things they will be comfortable coming to you with more important matters!