Keep It Quiet
by Rhoda Samkoff
Parents and teachers sometimes get tired of hearing their own voices because of the tendency to teach and tell too much. This blog gives you easy ways to soften the environment for you and your children. As things begin to mellow and slow down, everyone becomes calmer. Try the following suggestions to achieve a more peaceful day.
Less talk, more action: Try to substitute gestures or signals for actions such as stop, sit down, and come here. The universal sign language gestures are easy to learn.
Wait-time: Before telling the child how to do something, try asking, “Show me.”
Avoid over-instruction: Sometimes a child needs help in only a part of a skill. Pinpoint the difficulty first and then provide help where your child needs it.
Vary the instruction: Instead of telling, use visuals, music, or a video for kids to introduce or illustrate the skill, such as teeth brushing. Demonstrate, rather than tell.
Involve your child: Have him or her help a poster with the things you need help with most such as: no electronics at the dinner table or homework first. Post the reminder in a visible place and point to it instead of talking.
Quietly enjoy simple pleasures and wonders of nature. View the phases of the moon or watch a rainstorm together. Look at cloud patterns or sunsets. Blow bubbles on a breezy day. There is no need for a lot of talking. Listen to and watch your child’s reaction.
Still find yourself teaching and telling too much?
Don’t use every moment to correct or instruct. Allow him or her time for free play; to have fun. The child will learn by trial and error. Imagine how we would feel if someone were telling us how to do things over and over all day. Exhausting for both!
An additional advantage to letting the child play independently is that he learns keep himself busy.
Let the child experiment by playing alone.
Trial and error is an important part of independent play. Expect that he or she will bump into things, and discover that square pegs don’t fit into round holes. You should always keep an eye on things from a short distance away for safety’s sake.
When two or more children are playing, provide enough toys, and encourage trading or exchanging, which is a step before sharing. Parallel play is when children play independently, but 0.side by side.
Position yourself at EYE LEVEL to your child. Many parents speak to a child while standing so the child must strain his/her neck to look up at the adult.
THE WORDS LISTEN AND SILENT HAVE THE SAME LETTERS. When your child wants to show you something, take a genuine interest in what the child is doing. LISTEN WITH UNDIVIDED AND UNINTERUPTED ATTENTION!