Communication is essential for the correct emotional and social development of people. A part of that communication is done through verbal language and another important part is done through non-verbal language. Today we are going to talk about non-verbal communication in children and how it develops.
Non-verbal communication gives us much more information than simple words. The tone, intonation, intensity, gestures ... give an extra content to the words, providing more emotional information about the person.
Communication in children
Non-verbal communication It is the first that children acquire and the one they use to communicate with their parents, and verbal communication is gradually acquired as they acquire language. How during their early years they do not speak, non-verbal communication in children it is very important to be able to interact with its environment.
Through non-verbal communication they communicate their most basic needs such as eating or sleeping. They do it through gestures and sounds to draw attention to their emotions and needs. Over time this communication is perfected and made more complex.
How does non-verbal communication develop in children?
Babies begin to communicate through facial expressions. To see the different emotional states of your baby, it will be enough to observe him and see his different expressions of eyes, face and lips. It is an innate ability that will develop over time. It is the best way to work communication between the baby and you, as long as you have no word to transmit information. Their facial cues will give you a lot of information.
Non-verbal communication helps children develop language, thinking, empathy, assertiveness, and interact better with others. Let's see how we can work non-verbal communication with our children.
How can we work it
- Maintain eye contact when you talk to him. As we have seen, it is very important to look at their faces when they are babies, but also when they grow up. His gestures, body postures, tone of his voice ... will give you much more information than what his words say. So too we are telling you that we are interested in what you have to say to us and that we give it our full attention. The senses allow us to stimulate and interact with the baby, to work communication between parents and children, something so important.
- Get at their height. If you speak to them from above you will not connect in the same way as if you do it from their level. If he is sitting, sit in front of him, or if he is lying on the floor if necessary, jump too. Standing up to them will make them feel understood.
- Interact with your child. Respond to their gestures and facial expressions to improve your communication. Especially when it is very small and only makes sounds and gestures.
- Respond appropriately to your emotions. If you see by his expressions that he is angry, do not show anger as well. What the child needs is understanding of a very intense emotion that he does not understand. Actively listen to both their verbal and non-verbal communication, and that you understand their emotions, that they are valid.
- Pay attention to your non-verbal communication. In addition to looking at children's non-verbal communication, we also have to look at our own. Sending conflicting messages between what we say and what we project will create confusion for them. Choose your words, tones and body language well.
- Games. Play with him interpret emotions in the faces of others, of the characters in stories or in the photos of other people. You can also play to say the same phrase with different intonations so that you can notice the difference between them. The , it is also a way to play and learn social skills, where you can practice different moods and guess what they are.
Because remember ... non-verbal language not only helps their emotional and mental development, but also our communication with them.