Curb the Power Struggles! See Tips to Get Your Child to Listen to You

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The way you communicate with your child goes a long way in determining how they respond. Having said that, here are a few tips to get your child to listen to you.

1. Connect with your child by making eye contact. Call her name and make eye contact. However, try not to make eye-contact too intense so that your child does not think you are too controlling.

2. Keep directives simple and appropriate for the level of your child’s understanding. Too many words at the same time may confuse her, thereby impeding understanding.

3. If you want your child to listen when you talk, cultivate the habit of recognizing and appraising her efforts at showing appropriate behaviour and avoid nagging and criticisms because they will not yield positive results.

4. Constant positive communication with your child will not only boost her confidence and self-esteem, it will also improve her ability to cooperate with you. It shouldn’t be just you dishing out instructions, rather it should be a two-way traffic; you talk to her, she listens and while she talks, you equally listen in a casual manner.

In addition, when your child is in a happy mood, she’ll be eager to listen to you when you talk. Trying to make her see reason when she’s throwing a tantrum will only make things worse.

5. Model good communication skills. You know what they say; monkey see, monkey do.

6. Suggest options and alternatives if you want your child to cooperate with you. Calmly explain to her how and why you want her to do a particular thing, and try to include her in helping you solve a problem instead of ordering her around.

7. Encourage your child to express her feelings to you and do not frustrate her efforts at communicating with you. You can get an introverted child to open up by choosing your phrases carefully and sticking to topics that would excite her.

8. If you find out that your child is not responding to your request, or is getting confused, ask her to repeat what you have just said and write it down. Rephrase your words into shorter and simpler sentences.

9. Use positive language that will inspire and promote your child’s good behaviour and encourage her to work hard to achieve good success instead of words that will ridicule her and make her feel worthless and shy to communicate with you.