Listening to your Child

Communication involves more than just been part of a dialogue. It involves our senses to be alert to be able to have a feedback on what someone is trying to say. Today’s life has lots of distractions that tempt our senses to focus their attention on, living us with less perception. The lack of perception is what breaks that flowing communication with our friends, partners, and even our children.

Understanding Children's Language

Today’s way of life is quite stimulating for our senses. Noise pollution, air pollution, marketing pollution, smartphones, and technologies are some of the causes of the poor ability we have to “read” others. I will never forget what an old lady at a seminar I went said: “If we don’t listen to ourselves, how can we listen to our children?”

Listening to Yourself

As many self-esteem books say, first love yourself in order to love others; the first thing we need to do is to listen to our inner voice. Mother Nature provided women with instincts in order to provide protection to the next generation. Those instincts are usually suppressed from the beginning when people tell you not to hold your baby when crying. If you trust yourself then you’ll listen. Sometimes is hard to go against the world, but something marvelous happen when you become a mother; you can go against anything to protect your child.

Listening and trusting yourself will open the possibility to listen and read your child. There’s a constant communication mother-son/daughter that needs to flow naturally.

Listening to Baby’s Cues

The first month of life as a baby and a mother is quite hectic. You are going to get to know your child, and he will get to know the world he was brought in to. The only language he speaks is “cry”. Understanding those cries is an art that needs to be mastered by the mother. The only way to do that is to get in contact with your baby’s needs. Remember baby’s needs are food, protection, warmth, and hygiene. The more time you spend with your baby and attend his cries, the more you’ll understand his language. If you really pay attention you’re going to be able to decode what your baby wants. This ability appears only with practice and by listening to your inner voice.  

Understanding a Toddler

When babies grow, their language skills start to come out and little by little it’s easier for the child to say what he wants. But sometimes our child doesn’t have the language skills to communicate certain feelings and thoughts. As a parent we need to listen to those needs. The only way is to get to learn our child’s body language. Their posture, face expression, hands, every single part of the body screams what the child is feeling.

Listening Makes Discipline Easier

Understanding your child will give you tools on how to handle him. We all are born with personalities that are going to be molded by the social interaction that our children are going to have in the future. Knowing your child’s reactions to situations, people, or things can guide you on what to do or not to do with him.

Never let anyone interfere between the flowing connection between you and your child. Showing your child how you can “read” him is a fantastic tool you are teaching him. Today’s successful people are the ones with more social skills. Let your child be a future leader that listens to people. Be a listening model to your child by listening to him and to yourself.