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Parenting > Healthy Communication

In an on-going effort to promote connection, improve relationships and to build self esteem, parents can be more effective by promoting healthy communication with their children. Healthy communication includes role modeling calm and clear behavior, language awareness, active listening, non-verbal messages, and an ability to show respect toward a child even during the most emotionally challenging times.

Each opportunity a parent has to communicate with a child helps build pathways of core beliefs in the brain. Striving for a healthier way to communicate can provide for healthier brain development.

The greatest gift to a child (or anyone) is the gift of active listening. Active listening (+) is the ability to accept what a child is saying, while not necessarily agreeing with him or her. Giving proper time and attention to a child through active listening will allow him or her to fully process information emotionally before considering logical ways to react.

When active listening, parents find it more effective to allow a child to process information first in the emotional part of the brain (limbic system) before moving to the thinking part (pre-frontal cortex). In his book, Emotional Intelligence, author Daniel Golman discusses brain development in the emotional part of the brain and how all humans can learn how to more effectively manage, control, and process full range of emotions and how that affects relationships around us.

Help is available for parents to learn how to more effectively active listen, and to learn the skills needed to improve communication. One-on-one guidance is available. Contact us (+) to learn how active listening can help improve relationships.