How do I Teach my Child to Listen? “LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!” “ARE YOU DEAF?!” “SHUT UP….I MEAN ZIP YOUR LIPS AND LISTEN!” “ARE YOU SITTING ON YOUR EARS?” “ARE THOSE THINGS ON THE SIDE OF YOUR HEAD DECORATIONS?!”
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oes the above sound familiar (excuse the pun)? 3 REASONS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CHILD TO LISTEN 1. Listening forms the foundation to human relationships. According to Dr Rachel Naomi Remen, “The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.” 2. Listening helps a child improve their knowledge and understanding. 3. In order for a child to mature and grow into a well-respected member of society, they need to know how to listen. Listening improves knowledge. How does one listen? According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word listen means to give one’s attention to sound. If you had to ask your child to brainstorm ‘how do I listen, what would he/she say? More importantly, what would you say? 4 Secrets to Listening These secrets appear simple! Be warned, they are not! The secrets are difficult and laborious to teach but the younger your child can master these skills the better. 1. STOP. Whenever your child hears a voice directed at him, he needs to STOP whatever he is doing. 2. LOOK. Once your child has mastered the art of stopping, he needs to LOOK. LOOK at the owner of the voice. 3. THINK. Once your child has STOPPED, LOOKED and STUDIED the speaker’s lips, he must THINK about what has been said.
Your child needs to process what has been uttered and decide what to do with it. They need to decide what words in the information are CRITICAL and then take action. 4. DOODLE. This secret only applies to the child who can write. Doodle means to ‘scribble absent-mindedly’. Kids prefer the word doodle to note-taking. If your child can learn to scribble present-mindedly in the classroom from an early age, it will result in genius. In this article (www.andnextcomesl. com/2019/05/listening-games-activities. html), Dyan Robson lists many activities one can do to IMPOSSIBLE improve your child’s = I’M POSSIBLE listening skills. Don’t let your child suffer from poor self-esteem, because of When carrying reading problems out these activities, try and incorporate the four secrets to listening.
By Kath Denholm, speech therapist. Visit www.geniusseries.com.
Hilton and Hayfields 033 - 343 3226 devon@wiseeye.co.za www.wiseeye.co.za
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