Teaching a child to listen to others is essential for them to learn to communicate. Something that seems essential is often overlooked. Children are taught to speak, read, learn vocabulary and all kinds of tools with whom to communicate. But something as important as listening to others is not always taught, and over time, everything becomes a big problem.
Like everything, this learning must begin in childhood. Little children are sponges, it is not a mere figure of speech, it is a proven fact. Children's brains finish forming around the age of 6 or 7. and until then it is highly malleable. From that age it is more difficult to assimilate concepts, the brain has to work harder for it. So it is essential to make the most of that brain capacity of younger children
Teach a child to listen
There is a great difficulty in learning to listen, and it is that for this you have to have the desire and time. For children there is always something more fun than listening to others, unless it is something that really captures their interest. The problem is that listening is a fundamental skill For the development of the ability to communicate, and in listening, there is not always the key factor that is interest.
That is why it is very important to teach a child to listen to others from an early age, with activities and games that allow him to develop this ability from the game. With techniques that will help you capture the child's attention and with which little by little he will train his brain and his conscience to know how to listen to others. These are some keys to teaching a child to listen to others.
the power of words
Words have the power to attract the attention of a person or a child in this case, in the same way that choosing the wrong word can cause you to immediately lose interest. For very young children, it is best to use short sentences, with words that the child knows and can quickly assimilate. Use terms that generate interest, the favorite color, the food that you like the most, a plan that you really want to do, are some examples.
Without interruptions
As adults, it bothers us a lot when we are interrupted when we are talking, something normal because it is a terrible lack of respect. Now ask yourself something and answer yourself with total sincerity, do you usually interrupt your children when they speak? Surely you answered yes, because It is something that parents do without being aware of it.. But it is first, a lack of respect towards the child and second, a total contradiction if we want to ensure that he does not interrupt others when they speak.
No distractions
To capture the child's attention it is essential to eliminate anything that can generate distraction. Whether it's an important conversation or just reading a book, it is essential that the child is fully concentrated. Otherwise, he will lose the thread and have a hard time listening while you speak. Put yourself at his height, look him in the eye and show interest in each of his words, just as you expect the child to do with yours,
Games to learn to listen
One of those lifelong games that could not be missing at parties and gatherings with friends was the cracked phone. A perfect activity to work on active listening with children. The game tries to listen to a question that one of the players will say. Then you have to answer another player, but without saying what the question is. The object of the game is to create a totally meaningless sentencefunny and crazy. A perfect activity to spend an afternoon of games with children and thus teach them to listen to others.