Dear Parents,
Have you ever wondered what it is that actually makes your child feel safe and secure? What makes him feel happy, heard, and deeply connected to you? We agree that hugs and bedtime stories are great ways to stay connected. But their real journey of deep connection begins with non-judgemental, open-hearted communication from their early childhood.
Open communication is that Silver Cord, which unites your hearts for life. |
Children are innocent and know nothing about the ways of this world, yet they begin laying the cornerstone for how to connect and communicate with others. This process generally starts from 1 to 6 years of age. It is through learning and experience that the child understands the way to communicate with others, and it stays with him for the rest of his life. Even though they are too tender and vulnerable, their brains develop rapidly, with emotional intelligence taking up a decent shape. It is at this crucial stage that strong and secure bonds start taking shape through simple and consistent open communications.
The present generation has been smart since birth, while the future one will exceed your expectations. As parents, it is your prime duty to make your kids feel understood and accepted. This feeling is strong enough to build trust, confidence, and a healthy sense of self-being in kids.
There is no need to be overwhelmed by this discussion. All you need is to read this blog till the end, where we will explore six powerful and practical ways to use open, honest, and loving communication to nurture a fruitful relationship with your little wizard.
Why It Matters:
Just visualize a situation where you are talking about something important, and the listener doesn’t pay attention or behaves too casually about what you are communicating. What would be your immediate reaction? Of course, anger and irritation.
Contrary to this scenario, consider if your friend listens carefully and pays undivided attention to what you say; wouldn’t that make you happy?
The same stands true for your kid. Listening to your child with full attention will create the happiest moment for him. Big surprises or birthday parties may fail to please your child, but honest and truthful listening by parents will guarantee an absolutely beautiful smile on your child’s lips. While your kid does the talking, maintain continuous eye contact with him, give him your undivided attention, and make him feel that you matter the most to me.
Parents aren’t to be blamed, but many of them unintentionally overlook and miss this golden opportunity. The truth is that active listening for parents is an art that every parent must cultivate. Moreover, active listening is a powerful tool that helps build your child’s confidence, emotional strength, and resilience. Like any other person, your child, too, loves and feels great when you hear him carefully and value his thoughts. This experience will help him appreciate his self-worth. The next you get to see is an emotionally secure, confident, and deeply connected child growing right before you.
How to Do It:
There is no rocket science involved in mastering parent-child communication skills. While other skills may require time and effort to achieve perfection, here, you only need to be attentive and wholly present.
Here’s how to use active listening to forge a loving connection:
| Give Him The Greatest Gift: Your 100% Attention. |
Example:
Suppose your child is participating in a drawing competition organized by his school. He would obviously need to practice his art. Hence, he comes running with their artwork and says, “Look at my drawing!”
| Don’t do this: Avoid just glancing and saying, “That’s nice.” |
| But do this: Kneel with a smile and say, “Wow! Your colors are so brilliant. I love your brushstrokes. Can you tell me what’s happening in your picture?” |
The change you will witness: This small shift in your behavior is nothing less than a gift. It will transform this short-lived moment into a meaningful and affectionate connection.
The outcome of practicing this small shift will help build trust with kids. All your kid desires is your presence and patience while he speaks. Your actions must show your genuine desire to listen to his words and understand his heart.
Why It Matters:
Language at your child’s age is like a brand-new puzzle. His brain is trying to listen to and understand new words, tones, body language, and emotional cues. At his age, your child is trying to figure out everything and assimilate the pieces. The primary reason why effective communication with toddlers isn’t limited to presenting them with perfect sentences. It is more about meeting their needs and making them understand. Your child hasn’t enrolled in some linguistic program, so refrain from using long words and complex sentences. Instead, speak to him in ways he can understand. This strategy will save the kid from frustration and confusion. It will additionally reduce meltdowns and create memorable moments of real connection and pure happiness.
How to Do It:
If you are baffled about how to talk to young children, follow the four key formulas comprising simplicity, clarity, empathy, and kindness while talking to your child.
Here’s how to communicate. Be supportive and understanding:
Example:
The biggest benefit we see in using age-appropriate language with your child is that you’re making communication easier for him. Additionally, this approach will emphasize that your child’s thoughts and feelings matter the most to you. You will thank yourself one day when this sweet connection blooms with time, building a solid foundation of lifelong emotional intelligence.
Related Blog: Stages Of Language Development In Children
Why It Matters:
Being judgemental is quite common in most elders. Children find it difficult to express their emotions, which makes them feel overwhelmed. Most parents have a habit of expecting much from their little ones. As a result, they fail to understand the true message and purpose behind their child’s tears, tantrums, or pout.
A healthy parent-child communication helps young children to know that it's okay to feel the way they're feeling now. It is also important to assure the kids that opening their emotions and feelings before their parents are both safe and natural.
Now, the question that arises here is, ‘What would a child need to open his emotions and feelings?’ A simple answer is “A conducive environment (at home) where his emotions are welcomed with love.” There is no reason to pressure a child not to feel the way he is feeling now and dismiss his pure and honest emotions. Early childhood is the best time to solidify emotional intelligence in children. Children who develop emotional intelligence during their childhood become resilient throughout their lives.
After the day’s hard work, stress and frustration are quite obvious in our technology-driven lifestyles. But once at home, keep your frustration aside and respond to your child with love and empathy. Practicing empathy will not only calm the moment but also help kids express their emotions in healthy and positive ways forever.
How to Do It:
If you think that providing a judgment-free environment to children will result in unnecessary chaos and commotion, then you are far from the truth. Nurturing your kids in a judgment-free environment beacons them to navigate their emotional world with patience and compassion.
Here’s how to go about it:
Example:
Some children develop a mindset where crying over something will fetch them what they desire. As a caring parent, always avoid saying, “It’s not a big deal.” Instead, try saying: “I see that your broken doll (or toy) made you sad. Do you want to talk about it or snuggle for a while in your cozy bed?”
When you validate his emotions with love and compassion, you are responding positively with the message: All your feelings are welcome here, and you don’t need to worry about anything. Such a message will not only soothe your kid but also foster a bond that lasts for a lifetime.
Why It Matters:
Play is an integral part of your child’s life. The play actually goes way beyond the concept of passing time for children. Activities like playing help children explore this world, express their emotions, and connect with the people they love most. Children are always eager to play. If you ask them to choose between playing and any other activity, playing will be their only preference. Likewise, if you club everyday communication with a playful routine, they become more focused and attentive. They will soon start building trust, boosting their confidence, and strengthening their bond with the family.
Bloom supports and promotes play-based learning activities. They are one of the most effective ways to support smart development. Incorporating fun elements into your routine conversations will naturally encourage language growth in kids. Play-based learning activities will contribute to the easy development of social skills and the gradual building of emotional awareness. In the end, your kids will still be able to stay lighthearted and joyful.
How to Do It:
If your child is an introvert and you want him to open up, it is essential to give your daily communication a glitter of game. Here’s how to make communication feel like playtime:
Example:
Let’s limit serious lectures to high schools and colleges. The best approach is to grab a couple of puppets and act out a playful scenario. Use this method to make your child understand the importance of sharing.
Make it sound funny by saying, “Oh no! Mr. Bear doesn’t want to share his honey. What should Mr. Funny Bunny do to get a little honey? And suddenly, Mrs. Honey Bee appeared before Mr. Bear. She said, “My honey is for all who love and like it. So share it with Mr. Funny Bunny and thank me later.”
Your next step should be to get your little one to join this fun play. This kind of fun communication game for kids can turn a heavy topic or situation into an opportunity for empathy, understanding, and laughter.
Words need not stay dry. Add an element of fun and joy to make your words sound more lively. Just see the eagerness with which your child listens to what you say, learn from it, and start talking to you with love and affection. Let every connection begin with play.
Why It Matters:
As parents, you might not be consciously doing all your tasks. But your little ones are too sharp. Their little eyes are always watching, and their little ears are always listening. Children are engrossed in their worlds and may not pay heed to your advice. That doesn’t mean that they don’t learn to communicate. Even if they (act to) look busy, they are actually watching how you speak, react, and respond in everyday situations.
| Moms might have experienced a situation where the kid might ask suddenly, “Why did you talk to Aunt Kate (or Uncle Sam) in such a rude tone and hung up the call so abruptly?” |
Always remember that your words, tone, and actions are precious. They are powerful blueprints that impact your child’s actions and behavior. If you don’t want your kid to be negatively influenced, follow the positive parenting techniques. Positive parenting recommends you model a communication pattern that your child can follow.
Parents must be extra cautious when their kids are around. Understanding the essence of How to model good communication in kids will not only help shape their future relationships in and outside the family but also regulate their emotional well-being and enhance their power of self-expression.
How to Do It:
When nothing in this world is perfect, how can a role model be perfect? Hence, as a child’s communication role model, you are not expected to be absolutely perfect. All that is expected of you is to bring as much accuracy as possible while remaining natural.
Here’s how to model healthy habits that stick with children for life:
Example:
There is always a decent way to say something when things go out of your control. In such chaotic situations, frustrating reactions don’t earn you credit. Hence, teach your child to say: “I’m feeling upset right now. I need a break to calm down before we continue talking.” If you want your child to respond with maturity, explain to him that taking a pause, feeling the situation, analyzing the consequences, and responding thoughtfully is okay. There is no rush and no harm in buying some time before he decides to respond positively. These are some of the core lessons that you must teach your kid as part of how to model good communication.
When you are your child’s role model, your actions have more significance than your instructions. Always make efforts to set the right example to help your child adopt and follow. By now, you would have realized that you must carefully communicate with your child because he will learn to do the same.
Remember: Experiencing Truth is Better than its Explanation.
Why It Matters:
Ritual is nothing but a process comprising a set of regular, dedicated, and devoted tasks that convert ordinary activities into meaningful moments. Adding purpose to these activities will, in turn, deliver meaning and value to life.
Addressing daily communication as a ritual will always hold a higher preference than the busy schedules and endless to-do lists of our daily lives. This daily communication ritual consists of small, consistent moments filled with love, empathy, and knowledge that create the deepest family connections.
It is impossible to control time. As a result, parents must get involved at deeper levels to carve out intentional time to talk every day. This dedicated approach not only creates a sense of responsibility but also sends a powerful message to your kid: “You are important to me, and I want to hear about how your day went by.” The daily communication ritual will prove vital in strengthening parent-child relationships and helping kids feel safe and supported.
Related Blog: Bonding Parent-Child Connections Through Quality Time
How to Do It:
It doesn’t require much effort to build strong bonds, but what it does need is showing up every day to satisfy curiosity and embrace knowledge.
Here's how to make communication an integral part of your family routine:
Example:
Avoid asking close-ended questions like, “Did you have a good day?” (which generally ends in a one-word reply like yes/no.) Try something playful and specific like, “What was the funniest incident that you witnessed or happened today?” The possible answers might surprise you. Kids have their way of choosing the topic to speak about. These questions will help them to open up and share their hearts.
A seed is often small and fits your palm, but with proper nurturing, it grows into a massive tree bearing tons of fruits. Similarly, the span of daily communication rituals might seem small, but they can sum up to something large. Nurturing it with trust, love, dedication, and discipline can convert it into a lifelong habit of open, heartfelt communication.
Open Family Communications Are Gifts Your Child Will Carry Forever. |
Open communication isn't just about words—it's about presence, trust, and love in action. Let’s take a quick look back at the six powerful ways to strengthen your bond with your child through open connection:
Remember that you don’t have to do it all at once. Even small, consistent efforts—such as a five-minute chat at bedtime or a playful exchange during lunch—can create a lasting impact.
Your Goal Isn’t Perfection But Pure Connection.
Take a deep breath, select one or two of these strategies, and start today. You’ll be amazed at how your relationship with your child will begin to blossom.
