Learning to be a good listener is a critical skill. Kids need to learn to be active listeners (here’s how I teach it in the classroom) and adults need to remember to be good listeners too. But there are also things we do as we speak to children that may increase or lessen the likelihood that children will actually be listening.
Here are 6 ways we may be unintentionally telling kids NOT to listen, and how to correct that:
1. Making it Sound Optional
Sometimes we give a direction, but present it as a choice. “Do you want eat your dinner?” “Pick up your shoes, OK?” In our adult world we know the subtleties that imply that these aren’t really optional, but that’s all lost on kids. Make directions…well…direct. That doesn’t mean we have to bark or be impolite. In fact, studies have shown that kids respond best to directions that are spoken softly and worded positively (read more about that study over here). Instead of the ambivalent examples above, try: “You need to join us for dinner now.” “Please pick up your shoes. Thank you!”
2. Creating the Wrong Picture
Like I mentioned above, kids respond best when directions are worded positively. I call this “Say What You Need to See” in my ebook and parenting ecourse. If the directions you give are painting a mental picture that is opposite of what you want, or that doesn’t clarify what you need, kids are likely to misread your directions.
Here’s an example: “Don’t bounce in your seat.” The visual image created is still of someone bouncing in his seat. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this type of instruction given to a group of children, and not only do the original bouncers not stop, but the whole room suddenly begins to bounce as the silly verbal image of bouncing has crept into the minds of everyone in earshot.
Instead, “Please be sure your bottom is in your chair, your feet are on the floor, and your eyes are on our speaker. We want to be polite listeners for our guest….” The verbal image is of what you DO want to see. There is less misunderstanding and you’re not swimming upstream against the visual of what you DON’T want to see.
3. Avoiding Eye Contact
Adults are busy. But when we don’t take the time to get on a child’s level when we’re talking, it’s less likely the child will take in what we have to say. It’s not always that they’re choosing to ignore us, it’s that they haven’t really been invited to listen yet. Stop moving, get low, make contact, and you’ll be surprised at how much more attention you get! (Jillian, of A Mom with a Lesson Plan, has an outstanding post that makes the difference very clear!)
4. Saying Too Much
Young children often have trouble processing multiple steps of instructions given all at once. When we find kids aren’t following 0ur directions, it may be a sign we need to scale back and give only one or two instruction at a time. Sometimes that means slowing down and pausing after each instruction to allow them time to process. (“Make sure your hands are in your lap *pause*, your body is still *pause* and your eyes are looking at the speaker *pause*.”) Sometimes that means having them check back after each task. Sometimes it means drawing out the steps on a picture checklist to help kids work independently, but on just one step at a time. (Here’s an example.) Or perhaps it means politely asking kids to repeat your instructions back to make sure they’ve heard each part.
5. Forgetting to Connect
We adults are doers. We jump right in and get to work. But when we want kids to listen, they need to first know that we care. Part of connecting is what we covered in point 3. But it also means validating emotions (“I see that you’re feeling….”) and using elements like humor and story telling in the way we talk with them to make real connections and draw them in.
Here’s one example. When my oldest would get upset that his younger brothers were ruining his Lego structures, my knee-jerk reaction was to simply point out that he’d left them out where they could get them.
Didn’t accomplish much.
I’m not sure he even heard anything, other than that his mom was saying it was his own fault.
Then he approached my husband.
My husband acknowledge his frustration, curled up with him, and launched into a story from his own childhood. “You know your Uncle Roger? He is my little brother. And when I was little I loved to do puzzles. Well, of course, when Roger was little, he liked to take some of the pieces………..So then Grammy said I could do my puzzles in that room with the door shut so that Roger couldn’t get to the pieces. Can you think of a place where YOU could work on your projects without YOUR little brothers getting to it?”
Much more effective. (#dadsforthewin)
6. Failing to Follow Through
Words lack meaning, when we lack action. When we state a boundary (“Throwing balls needs to happen outside, not inside.”) but then allow it to be ignored, we will continue to be ignored as well. As we set limits in the future, they’ll continue to be challenged. When you say, “We need to brush teeth after story time,” make sure that’s what happens. When you say, “I won’t let you climb on the table,” be sure the child is removed each time she climbs up.
I think Janet Lansbury has driven it home for me over and over, that firm limits and follow-through are still an important part of respectful, gentle parenting and child care. This follow-through doesn’t have to sound harsh or authoritarian. Janet gives great advice about how to follow through in direct, but also respectful ways on her blog (particularly here), as well as in her new book, Elevating Child Care: A Guide to Respectful Parenting
What do you do to help kids listen?
Thank you for the article. Just what I needed today as I care for the neighbors 2 year old and my 4, 2 and 1 year old on a rainy day today. Thank you for helping me get back to the basics. Doesn’t always work, but good things to live by.
I like to constantly remind myself and work on my language to match the picture I want the kids to understand. It takes a lot of thought and sometimes saying the same thing a different way to get the result I am looking for. It is a challenge and takes a lot of thought but it is possible if you try to think about the best way to say some thing. Instead of don’t get out of your highchair, I say you need to remain sitting in your chair. I still catch myself messing it up but I continue to train myself to speak in a way that creates the right picture. I think all of the points above have value. Getting on my knees to talk to the toddlers and get eye contact is very important to me. I also think that the more you do it the better the results are.
Thanks for discussing an important topic. Communication is very important and kids need to learn how to listen as well as to respond appropriately. As adults, we can influence them negatively or positively so we need to be very careful in dealing with them.
These are so true! I use the phrase “eyes” when I need them to make eye contact. My 3 and 2 year olds (my 1 year old isn’t here yet obviously) will keep eye contact until I’ve told them. I also love your point about not over-explaining. I had a friend who was a childcare development specialist and said to use as few words as possible to make the point. I’m a talker so…. this is a constant challenge 😉
These should be stated in the positive, rather than the negative. Say what you want to see.
I wondered if someone would catch that, Nathan! :0) The subtitles state the problem, but the “Say What You Want to See” is in the body of each section.
I love all of these ideas! So, with #1, what would you do if you say to your child, “You need to join us for dinner now” or “Please pick up your shoes” or “Please come down from the playground now. It’s time to go home” or “You need to climb into your car seats so we can buckle up” and your child doesn’t do as asked/told? That is often the case with my kids.
I don’t like to use force (carrying them off the playground to the car, forcing them into the car seat) and I don’t like using threats like “Come down now…. if you don’t come down on the count of three then you won’t get to watch a video this afternoon” or “You need to pick up your toys or else they’ll end up in the Gunny Sack”, but sometimes those are things I end up doing and saying.
Any suggestions on what to do? Does it just mean I need to work on connecting with them more during other times?
I hope someone who knows what they’re doing answers your question cause I’d love to know too!
I think this is a great article, and all spot on. I am no expert, but I wanted to share my experience with my 4 yr old. We try to avoid the “if you don’t do this then you can’t have that” approach, and we also try to avoid outright bribery. I think there is a hazy middle ground though. We try to pick something that we may already be planning on doing (reading some stories before bed, or doing something that’s fun), and use the carrot approach. “You would like some stories before bed wouldn’t you?”, to which we might get an “oh, yes papa!”. So then I can come back with “ok, we need to tidy up your toys or we can’t have any stories”. This isn’t so different to what you’ve said already, except trying to separate the two bits of conversation. Here’s something you like, let’s talk about that for a minute. Ok, now here’s what You need to do to make that happen. Keep it simple, and follow through. Only a very few times have we had to follow through, because our little man now believes us when we say stuff like that, and in those situations we simply explain “you can’t have a bed time story because you didn’t tidy your toys, do you remember?”. Believe me, it hurts us more than it does him, but he gets over it quick and learns from it too. Sometimes his response is to be upset but accepting, other times he will ask if he can go tidy his toys up, and we’ll let him, then he can have his stories. This works really well for us, and we have never reached a stalemate situation, but I think consistency is key to success here.
QUOTE: “and your child doesn’t do as asked/told? ”
Of course it depends on the child, the situation, and the personality. . . but in general these strategies work for me:
1. For a 2 or 3 year old. “You need to get in your carseat.” (No response from child.) “Do you need me to help you or can you do it yourself?” (For a 2 and 3 year old, this harnesses the strong “I”ll do it mySELF!” drive that they have! Usually my kids do it themselves at this point.) If my child still doesn’t get in the carseat, I say, “Here, let me help you,” pick them up, and help them. Really, my attitude at this point needs to be HELPING, not “punishing” them by forcing them. Keeping my attitude like that rubs off on the child, and they seem to cooperate and accept my help.
2. Similar to what Jon said, but a little different. . . I often link the action that needs to be done with the following action. I find that my younger kids don’t respond well to an “If you don’t do X, then we can’t do Y” sort of statement. What works better for us is a “When. . . then. . .” statement. It is subtly different, but for us, gains more cooperation. Using Jon’s example, I would phrase it, “When the toys are picked up, then we can read our story together.” To be honest, the “When… then…” works well with my teenagers, too. “When you are finished unloading and loading the dishwasher, then you can go play your guitar. . .”
3. Even smart kids, even kids who are very verbal, are STILL very physical when they are little. I find that when I help them physically start something, then they are able to “hear” what I said earlier and start complying. Like with the toys before book time, I might say, “When the toys are picked up, then we can read our story together.” And then, I’ll start picking up the toys, or putting the basket the blocks go in near my child, or other things that physically help him start the task.
4. Hug&Pray. . . when my kids (especially toddlers or preschoolers, but also older kids) are not complying or start having a meltdown, I like to pull them onto my lap and hug them. The hug helps calm me and calm them. It gives us a moment to reconnect and have that physical affection that helps put the big emotions into context. And I pray for wisdom. . . sometimes silently, sometimes out loud with them, so they see that I am not perfect but want to do the best thing. We both calm down usually, and then can address whatever situation brought up all the big feelings or disobedience.
Hope this helps with some practical ideas for when kids aren’t responding to your directions!
Thank you for this response! It’s as though you’d written it just for me!
Agree, agree, agree!
Regarding the Playground (or insert any place that a child doesn’t want to leave!), we let our daughter know that we’re going to leave BEFORE we actually leave, by saying something like “we’ll be leaving in 2 minutes” – we find it works a treat as she’s not surprised by a sudden departure announcement. It also gives her a chance to do what she wants to do before we leave (the last 2mins are usually spent frantically playing on any piece of equipment she hasn’t played on yet!!)
As with all of these things, child rearing is certainly an art, not a science. Good luck! 🙂
Jon, How about ” Ok, we need to tidy up your toys so we can have time for some stories” ?
What I learnt: it took a while….after reading a book on positive parenting. Telling my son what he needed to do rather than not. At that age of teaching boundaries etc. Out of habit when he would say touch the rubbish bin I would automatically go to say don’t touch the rubbish bin, whereas I’m sure all he would hear would be touch/bin. I would find with anything in that regard telling him “hand’s off/stand back” started to work. I made it a habit (took a while) to never say no/never and found I have never had the battle or issue with him growing up ever saying “no” to me.When he would want something he couldn’t have, saying “I’m not saying no, I’m just saying not right now” worked. If he was to have an ice cream or treat on a outing say, I would make a point of saying beforehand “I noticed how you tidied up your toys when asked this morning/washed your hands straight away when I asked, I thought you would like this for your great listening, well done. Trying to reinforce his good behaviour worked for us rather than the focus on the other, say bribing him with something to have him do what I asked etc. I find now at 9 that when we ask him to do something 99.9% of the time he just does straight away. This has made parenting such a joy, as growing up I was my parent’s worse nightmare as when I got told no/can’t do that it would make me want to even more :{
I do this regularly to my 7 yo. If she doesn’t listen I simply say goodbye and walk away/ do what I need done. E.g. Walk away from the park, leave dinner to be collected, put her shoes in or on her bed (she hates that one!) would remove from car seat close the door and Start the car (yes I know that sounds mean but it has worked) Usually gets done pretty quickly,
Look ahead. We’re going to have to leave the playground in 5 minutes. What do you want to finish playing before we go?
I often get my 4 yr old to do things by challenging him. For example I say “One more slide down the slide and we need to go” . Then I challenge him to a race to the car (the whole on your mark get set go thing). I don’t know if it’s right, but it sure avoids the drama and I win.
Choices. If we know that this child is going to be upset about leaving the playground, then the question we could ask him is, “It’s time to leave. Do you want to walk to the car, or march?” We can always offer a choice to our kids, even if the only choice at the moment is “can you do it, or should I help you?” This piece of advice changed my life several years ago. Good luck!
Just a quick word about the “1-2-3” approach. When my kids were very young, I read somewhere to stop using the “by the count of 3” method. Instead, count backwards…I decided to start at 5 & I still use this method to this day and my kids are teens. “We’re leaving after you finish the slide…ok, let’s go…5… do you need my help?…4… etc etc etc” there is something about the finality of reaching “1” that always spurs kids into action. It’s weird…
Such great suggestions here! I think most of what has worked for me has been mentioned. I state boundaries and offer choices (“It’s time to get in the car. Would you like to walk or shall I carry you?” OR “We need to leave soon, would you like me to set the timer for 5 minutes or 10 minutes?”). I tie to natural or logical consequences (“Its’ time to clean up toys. We wanted to do X tonight, but we can’t start until this is done. It would be sad if we ran out of time.”) TulipGirl’s #3 tip is a good one I hadn’t consciously thought about that way before, and I definitely use her #4 now and then too! I’d love to hear more of people’s favorite tools!
I have this problem a lot also…I have twin 2 year olds and a 3 year old and if we are doing something fun and they don’t want to leave I ask them if they are interested in doing something else I know they enjoy like if it’s time to go eat “are you hungry?” and I usually get a yes cause fun thing build up a kids appetite I’ll say “OK we are going to go get something to eat and we can come back another time and have fun again” or if it’s getting in their car seats and they don’t want to I’ll ask them if they want to go where ever we are going (my kids even love the doctors) and so when they say yes I tell them “well you need to get in your car seat to go so you can be safe for the ride” just simple things you know your child enjoys will distract them away from what they don’t want to do as long as you also make it sound fun and just be as honest as possible and they will listen…I like to get on my knees or sit down and have my kids sit in my lap or stand directly in front of me to talk so I know their attention is on what I’m saying! I hope this helps! This is just my experience with my kids not any expert advise or anything so hopefully it speaks to someone
My children are adults now. So I see now it worked. My husband and I used assertive discipline. Alwats in a positive manner. we tried to make sure we always had a plan ahead of time. For example we’re going grocery shopping and we would tell the kids before we got out of the car we would be doing some thing after we went grocery shopping if they were good in the store, my husband and I made those plans ahead of time, the children didn’t know that whether it was to purchase extra as a treat for them or going to McDonald afterwards. And in our house toys weren’t picked up, toys were taken away. it’s not something that happened only sometimes every time a toy with left out, not picked up it was taken away.
A lot of great suggestions have been made. I would add that we always talk about the behavior I want to see before hand. For the park example, I’ll tell my children on the way how leaving the park should look and that if leaving isn’t difficult, then I’m happy to come back again. If leaving the park is a fight then we’ll just need to skip the park (beach, play date, etc) for a while as they show me (at home) that they are learning to listen. And I can refer to the conversation when they are frustrated….”remember what we talked about.” I have a highly emotional daughter, a strong willed daughter, and a very physical son and this (as well as many of the other awesome suggestions) helps us avoid many fights. If it doesn’t go well, I stick to my guns and we stay home for a while. If it goes well I make sure to point out how their actions help create such a fun time together and we’ll be able to come back again soon!! There are certain ages and stages that all the techniques in the world can’t avoid a lot of meltdowns but if you stay as consistent as possible, it does start to pay off as they grow up.
hi, don’t know if I know what I am doing but maybe you just have to be forcefull and take more control or charge. eg, we need to go home now (after you have already given warning you are leaving in 5 mins, or two more slides etc) , if thye don’t listen then : either you can come and walk yourself or I will take you of the climbing frame and carry you to the car.
No, you don’t know what you are doing. How would you like someone to physically over power you and carry you off because they were bored in the cafe? They are little people.
Marc
I am assuming you have children. I recommend you address them with warmth and courtesy. The choice of words you use is just as important as the physical response. May I suggest you use some love and logic when communicating with adults such as Christina. I felt your response was callous and belittling. If you and I happen to meet at a “boring” cafe and I witnessed you berating the barista in similar fashion , I would welcome the opportunity to carry you and your no-fat soy latte outside.
Great article. I have a 2.5 year old boy who is very lively and rambunctious, however I have always taken great care to treat him with the same respect as I would like to be treated and it seems to work. He’s not a naughty child and we don’t have any behavioral issues. Whenever he is upset or has a tantrum (which is quite often given his age) I do my best to validate his feelings/emotions and he is mostly able to tell me what was bothering him when he calms down. I often get down to his level to talk to him especially if it’s about something serious and important such as crossing the road and it really does make a difference in being heard.
I’ve learnt that you can’t rush a toddler so I try and factor that in if we have to go out – my boy likes to play in the car for a bit before being buckled up. I can live with that seeing as we avoid some tears. If we need to leave the park I give him a heads up about 5 minutes before and if he still doesn’t want to leave I think of something fun to do when we get home and that usually works.
Love the other points too and will try them out for sure.
I spent 15 years as a nanny, where I discovered many secrets to raising children. Unfortunately, when I had my own (now 4.5 years), I seemed to forget all about what I learned. I had three hard and fast “rules to live by”. 1. Set the rules and the consequences. 2. Follow through with them. 3. Be CONSISTENT. As a nanny, I rocked these. As a mother, I find it so much harder to be consistent. I am constantly hearing me berate myself about it. Grrrrr! It’s frustrating!
This is such a great article! I have never thought about the mental picture suggestion, but I am starting that tomorrow! And going along with number four on your list: my younger daughter has the hardest time following even simple verbal instructions. What I did (which has helped *so much*) was finally just putting together visual lists of her regular tasks. She loves it because it is a victory in an area she and I were both getting so frustrated! Here’s the link if you want to check them out 🙂 I would recommend this method to anyone with a child who struggles with verbal instruction!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/201501141/printable-morning-bedtime-evening-list?ref=shop_home_active_5
Great advice! I think I use most of these strategies with my son, but I learned them all by trial and error. I never would have been able to articulate why they’re effective, which you’ve done beautifully. It’s good to know I’m doing something right!
I just stumbled upon this article – thanks!! I would love to use it in a teacher training (sourced, of course), as an opening activity – if its okay. This is totally relevant to classroom management, building classroom culture, and fostering self advocacy. 🙂
Chris- You’d definitely be welcome to use this along with the source —
Amanda Morgan, MS – Not Just Cute, http://www.notjustcute.com
Thanks!
Hi!
Thanks for this very well written and concise post about super important communication fails with kids. I often refer to each of these when talking with other parents. A wise preschool director put #1 as, “Mean what you say, say what you mean and don’t say OK.” It’s her mantra with all parents, so it makes sense it’s your number one. And love the shout out to Janet at the bottom. She has been so inspiring to me on how to communicate with babies and kids with even more respect and clarity!
Janet is delightful, isn’t she?
great
thank you
some i knew and some i didn’t.
they all needed to be reviewed over and over, at the end of the day i am and or can be that little
kid every know and then
thanks again
These are great, insightful tips. Pinning this to refer back to!
Clear and wonderful advice as usual, Amanda! And all so helpful. Your husband’s “win” reminded me how reflexive our responses can be, no matter how long we’ve been practicing (and teaching) these things. I’m also very honored that you recommended my book. Thank you so much!
Absolutely, Janet! I’ve learned so much from you and your perspectives! Thank YOU!
Every point is spot on. To find additional help go consciousdiscipline.com, Dr. Becky Bailey. I would go a step further, combining #6 with #1 & #2. “You may not climb on the table. You can sit in the chair or sit on the couch.” Directly state what they may not do (whatever) with options they can do.
Hi there,
I just ordered your newest ebook, and it’s not downloading……any tips?
Hi Jennifer-
Thanks for picking up the ebook! Some people who’ve run into problems have found that restarting the computer or changing the browser type (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.) has helped. If you run out of downloads, please send me an email and I can resend the download to you manually, and/or send it in a different format. Please let me know how it goes for you!
Hi there,
So I got a link right after I purchased it and that’s it. Now I have no way to access it at all. Can you just email it to me? I don’t know what happened. Thanks in advance
The link in the email should send you to the download. Let me send you an email directly to see if that helps.
Can you please provide some specific examples as to how to stop our almost 3yo hitting/pushing other kids at daycare. Its not hard & malicious & ramped up when our second was born. I think we’ve focused too much on the “dont hit” approach & we’ve been using a star chart to encourage some behaviors but i realise even that depicts hitting with a red cross over it (dont hit). When we pick him up he tells us he’s been naughty because he hit… Is it really as simple as saying – “today at daycare i want you to treat the other kids nicely??” I feel uncomfortable ignoring violent behavior. Help please
I had a hitter as well and it’s terribly frustrating. Hang in there, at 5 she is a very gentle, very empathetic little lady. Not the little Juvie I thought she might be. 🙂 We have had to demonstrate a thousand times the kind of hands she needs to use towards other people. Gentle like this….not hurting like this. (No, I didn’t smack her, I would make the hitting motion in the air to demonstrate…not on her body.) We would also ask her to look at her friend’s face and tell us if she saw sad or happy and then connect the two…when you do this it makes your friend sad. We tried to give her alternate tools…if your friend grabs your toy and you are mad and want to hit, use your words instead. We role played and just lived on repeat for a year or two. It felt like nothing worked but now that she’s older she uses all of those tools and I hear her pass it on to her younger siblings so take heart and keep on.
These make so much sense! Thanks for your great insights! 🙂
great list ! I never really thought about number 2 before, focusing on what you want them to do, rather than what they are doing wrong. That is interesting. I still think we should tell them what they shouldn’t do, but perhaps end with and place more emphasis on what they should do in a clear direction. I am def. going to try to incorporate this.
These tips work for teens, too! Teens can be very good at ignoring you if you call (or yell) from another room. But if you go in, touch them on the shoulder to gain eye contact, and calmly tell them what you want, it works wonders.
Mandy,
I just saw this link from a friend and had to read it! I loved it and ever better was happy to see that you have this great blog! I will be a follower for sure! Good for you! What a small world I find a Pratt’s blog while scrolling through Facebook! Hope to see you soon!
Megan
It’s a small world, isn’t it Megan? So fun to see you here!
Great article! I was a kindergarten teacher so a lot of these points can be applied to discipline in school too. My son is just 14 months, but I know I will have to remember these points as he gets older. I also think it’s important to show children as opposed to just saying what we want them to do. Model the behavior you want to see.
I’m so guilty of talking too much… I think it,s because my daughter talks SO much that I forget that her talking with a lot of words doesn’t mean she’ll understand a lot of words…
Great article!
When I’m about to tell her something important, I start with “Hey, look at me, please.” She knows that good listeners look at whoever’s talking. This is *especially* important in our house, since I’m hearing-impaired. I model good listening, too, out of necessity. When my daughter talks to me, I make sure I’m looking at her so I can get the visual piece of what she’s saying, too. If I don’t do that, and I miss something that she says, I apologize. “I’m sorry. I didn’t look at your face, so I couldn’t get what you were saying. Will you please tell me again?” Not only do I actually get what she’s saying, she learns by example that looking and attention are crucial parts of listening…and that grown-ups mess it up sometimes, too. :blush:
Great example, Jen! (And one this grown up definitely needs to work on too! *blush*)
Thanks for a great article. Worth a try as my 6 year old has been talking back with a tinge of attitude lately and using some language that we don’t allow like stupid and hate. the big one for us is creating the wrong picture and at times not connecting with him. I hate to say it but sometimes I am in a hurry and don’t validate his feeling enough. Thanks again.
Alison
Theguiltymommy.com
Thanks, Alison. You might find this post interesting. The perspective of the author I interviewed has been helpful for many parents: https://notjustcute.com/2014/06/25/its-ok-not-to-share-section-6-bad-words-polite-words-and-lies/ (And I often make the same mistake. Rushing and not connecting. It’s an easy habit to slip into, but I think with continued reminders we get better. And luckily, our kids are resilient and usually turn out ok in spite of our mistakes, when we’re doing the best we can!)
It’s helpful
Please I need help my fiancee and I have 3 kids together, we have a 13 year old little lady, an 8 year old little lady and a 2 year old little man. On a daily basis my our little guy is always either throwing something or hitting someone especially his middle sister who has been driven to defend herself by hitting back. My fiancee and I are so fed up with him not listening and us not knowing what to do anymore.
Hmm. I’ll see if I can address this at length in October’s First Friday Q&A, but in the meantime, check out these posts from Janet Lansbury: http://www.janetlansbury.com/2014/07/my-preschooler-is-hitting-me/ and http://www.janetlansbury.com/2012/09/biting-hitting-kicking-and-other-challenging-toddler-behavior/
I love #2 “Creating the Wrong Picture”. I had never thought of that! Definitely going to give it a try.
I love this article. Parents and teachers often think that “listening” is common sense. We expect children to do it without teaching them. These steps give parents and teachers some clear examples and practical tips for how to get their kids to be good active listeners.
Thanks for sharing.