Help your child succeed in life by teaching her effective listening skills. The Counsellor’s Guide website explains that active listening means more than just hearing the words that someone says. Your child needs to learn how to use her eyes as well as her ears, so she can "read" the speaker’s body language. She needs to make eye contact and show interest. She should focus on the speaker and ask questions to make sure she understands. She may need to repeat back what she has heard, to check her understanding. She needs to learn to wait for her turn to speak, without interrupting or making abrupt subject changes that undermine the conversation.
Step 1
Check that your child has good hearing. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recommends an assessment with a certified audiologist if you suspect he may have difficulty in hearing.
Step 2
Maintain a quiet environment for at least a part of each day, especially when your child is a baby, toddler or preschooler. Sally Ward, in her book "Baby Talk," suggests you set aside time to turn off the TV or radio, stop doing the household chores and play with her. Let her see your face when you play, so that she learns to recognize facial expressions and makes eye contact with you.
Step 3
Play listening games with your child. Encourage him to listen to sounds around the house and neighborhood, such as dripping faucets, barking dogs, bird song and car engines. Make sure he listens to high-pitched sounds, like whistles, as well as lower pitches, such as the hum of the dishwasher, to improve his auditory skills. When you read to him each day, act out different voices, so he learns to recognize the difference between angry, happy, excited or annoyed voices and facial expressions.
Step 4
Teach by example. When your child talks to you, give her your full attention and reflect back what you hear, so she knows you understand what she is saying, suggests the Healthy Children website. Nod your head to show that you are listening and give her time to finish before you comment. Use family mealtimes to encourage your children to listen to each other.
Step 5
Encourage listening and taking turns through play. From preschool age, children enjoy games where one child finishes a task, such as hitting a ball, before the next child has a turn. Taking turns in life leads to taking turns in conversation, an important listening skill. Help groups of children learn to listen with a "listening ball." Only the child with the ball can talk, while the others listen. Move the ball on to the next person to give them a turn. Or let a group of children tell a story, each child building on the previous speaker’s sentence.
Tips and Warnings
- The How to Study website points out that taking notes helps older children learn to listen actively, concentrate and pick out the important points.
- Some children, including those on the autistic spectrum, may find it difficult to learn good listening skills and find it difficult to read non-verbal language. If your child has autism, she may benefit from extra help in recognizing common facial expressions and body language, suggests the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Things You'll Need
- No special equipment required
References
- The Counsellor's Guide: Active Listening Skills
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: Noisy Toys Can Damage Your Hearing
- "Baby Talk: Strengthen Your Child’s Ability to Listen Understand and Communicate"; Sally Ward Ph.D.; 2000
- Healthy Children: Components of Good Communication
- How to Study: Good Listening in Class
