Simple Tips to Develop Your Child’s Listening Skills

Listening is an essential component of learning. It is one of the basic building blocks of language and communication. In the early years of education, up to 80 percent of learning is verbal, which is why parents should focus on developing listening skills in their children.

Listening comprehension is more than just hearing what is said. It involves:

• The ability to comprehend information
• The ability to express ideas and opinions
• Ability to respond to instructions

Overall, listening comprehension means the ability to comprehend information and then be able to relate to them in some way. For example, when your child listens to a story and then understands it, remembers it, talks about it, and can retell the story in his own way.

So, learning comprehension will allow your children to be good communicators. Hence, it is an important skill to be developed at a very young age. The skill requires regular exercise to grow stronger. Therefore, to help the parents, we have listed some ways to build your child’s listening comprehension.

Be interested and attentive – Children like to share things and express emotions, so hear them out and give your full attention. They can tell if they have your attention or not by the way you reply. So put your phone and other distractions on the side, stop speaking, maintain eye contact, and show that you have full attention to what your child is telling you.

Converse about things they find interesting – Make sure you communicate with your child daily. You can talk about their day in school, recent events, friends, and their interests. 

Try to make a bond of friendship with your kids, so they are comfortable in sharing everything they feel. Make sure there is no communication gap and give them the opportunity to express themselves. 

Indulge in reading activities – There’s no better tool than reading or narrating stories to get your child to focus and listen. You can read bedtime stories to them or narrate stories in your leisure time. While narrating stories, intersperse your stories with questions about the characters and the plot. For instance, you can ask them questions like what they would like to change about the story if given a chance or how they expect the story to end. This will engage them in active listening. 

Engage in fun activities – Indulge in activities and games with your kids that involve instructions like board games, baking, playing a sport, etc. Engaging your kids in these activities will make sure that they listen to the instructions carefully and carry them out successfully. 

You can make your child listen to rhymes and music that gives dancing commands that your child will have to follow.

Also, don’t forget to listen to songs, sing-alongs, and do karaoke together. Music is a great tool to hone your child’s listening skills. 

Play games – You can play games with your child like “Simon Says”, “Story Chain” or “Passing the secret”, which will help to develop your child’s active listening skills.

“Story Chain” is a game where a group of people sit in a circle and have to continue the story from where the last person left it off, with each person contributing a sentence, will make up a new story and help your child to listen, comprehend, and respond. 

In “Simon Says”, you’ll have to give commands to your child, and your child will have to listen with keen attention and perform the actions.

Read this related blog – Fun Word Games For Kids

How to talk to your kids to encourage attentive listening?

Here are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Remember to address your child by their name. Also, when you’re asking them to do tasks, try to talk as if you’re talking to an adult, so they take their responsibility seriously.
• Make sure to use kind words such as “thank you” and “please”.
• Rather than commanding them, ask them if they would like to do a certain task. 
• Always use positive language while talking to your child. Instead of asking them not to do something, tell them what they should be doing.
• Another way of developing effective listening in children would be to phrase questions in a way that encourages them to communicate.
• Ask them about the best part of the day rather than just asking if they had a good or bad day. Make your questions as open-ended as possible.

Conclusion 

When it comes to developing good listening skills in children, parents should understand that communication is a two-way process. Hence, parents should involve themselves in the process and practice various types of listening skills with the children. 

Also, make sure while communicating, treat your children with respect and consideration. 

If you expect your child to understand you better, then make an effort to understand them better!

Also read – Role and Importance of Music in Child Development