Communicating With Our Children. Why It's So Important

As a parent, I've learned that communicating effectively with our children is important and it varies for each child. My mother was a yeller and I've learned that so am I. I've also learned that yelling is not very effective. 1., it's offensive (I hated to be yelled at as a child), 2. it doesn't necessarily guarantee results and 3. it damages the trust value between the parent and child. Johanna Sorrentino, wrote an article titled "The Art Of Communication". This article provides really good tips on how parents can be effective at communicating with their children and getting desired results.

This is a really good article for parents of teenagers. I have definitely taken pointers on how to become more effective with communication with my own teenager.

Here are a few quick pointers in the article, but I suggest you read it in its entirety.

1. Teens don't want to hear "No." They would rather hear other options that lead to "YES"
2. Criticsm damages your teens self esteem
3. Don't lecture. It's not effective
4. Have family meetings where everyone has an opportunity to share their feelings
5. Work to build trust with your teen by really listening to him or her

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/power_struggles_high_school/