3 REASONS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CHILD TO LISTEN
Listening forms the foundation of human relationships. According to Dr Rachel Naomi Remen, “The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.”
Listening helps a child improve their knowledge and understanding. In order for a child to mature and grow into a well-respected member of society, they need to know how to listen. Listening improves knowledge. In Brigette Hyacinth’s article, listening is the most important skill a leader can master.
HOW DOES ONE LISTEN?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word listen means to give one’s attention to sound. If you had to ask your child to brainstorm ‘how do I listen’, what would they say? More importantly, what would you say?
4 SECRETS TO LISTENING
These secrets appear simple! Be warned, they are not! The secrets are difficult and laborious to teach, but the younger your child can master these skills the better.
- STOP. Whenever your child hears a voice directed at him, he needs to STOP whatever he is doing.
- LOOK. Once your child has mastered the art of stopping, he needs to LOOK. LOOK at the owner of the voice.
- THINK. Once your child has STOPPED, LOOKED and STUDIED the speaker’s lips, he must THINK about what has been said. Your child needs to process what has been uttered and decide what to do with it. They need to decide what words in the information are CRITICAL and then take action.
- DOODLE. This secret only applies to the child who can write. Doodle means to ‘scribble absent-mindedly’. Kids prefer the word doodle to note-taking. If your child can learn to scribble present-mindedly in the classroom from an early age, it will result in genius.
In his article, Dyan Robson lists many activities one can do to improve your child’s listening skills. When carrying out these activities, try and incorporate the 4 secrets to listening.
By Katharine Denholm.