Do you feel like your child never listens to you? I don’t know about you, but I think we all have the same challenge with our children. We all know that there is a huge difference between “hearing” and “listening.” I know for a fact that my kids hear everything my wife and I tell them, but they don’t necessarily listen to what we say. Here are a few “tricks” we use at my house to help our children listen better.
- Get in their line of sight. If their eyes are on the TV or their iPad, then whatever you have to say is going to go in one ear and out the other. Try this: “Hey Luke, let’s pause the show real quick, I have something I want to tell you!” Sounds excited. Kids are experts at mirroring you. If you look and sound excited, then they will be too!
- Give them a reason to be excited about what you want them to listen to. For example, “You’re going to want to get dressed quickly because you’re going to love school today!”
- Be sure to catch them when they are doing something right. I know, as a parent, that we always notice immediately when our children exhibit a behavior we don’t want them to. Be a good finder, and try to catch them when they listen to what you want them to do, or when they do something without being told, and praise them for it.
Listening is one of the Seven Successful 7 character development opportunities that our students in the Tiger Cub (4 & 5 year old program) get to practice on a regular basis.