10 ways to Active Listening and Assertive Parenting
Active Listening is an important part of being an assertive parent. It allows children to express their emotions and shows your child that you are taking on board what they are saying and making an effort to understand how they are feeling about what is going on in their lives.
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A child who is allowed time to think for themselves learns to have faith in their own problem solving abilities.
- Parents who use active listening teach their children that they are valuable individuals who, given time, can work through and find solutions to the many challenges they may face in life.
- Our aim as parents is to be assertive in how we communicate and relate to our children.
- Assertiveness is a skill that is learned over time. Through patience and persistence it can transform the relationship between parents and their children.
- The world can be a difficult and complicated place for children.
- Active listening is the key to good communication.
- Listen for feelings and try to put a name on that feeling.
- Let your child clarify what feelings they are experiencing or correct you if you have got the feeling wrong.
- Being self-aware is crucial to successful anger management. Ask yourself, ‘What is the trigger for this anger I feel?’
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You can control your own behaviour and this will model anger management for your child, but you cannot control your child’s behaviour.
This article is part of our weekly ’10 Ways to’ series of parenting tips, and is by One Family’s Director of Children and Parenting Services, Geraldine Kelly. Coming up Next Week: 10 ways to Handling Difficult Behaviour – Part 1.
LIVE Facebook Q&A on this topic with Geraldine, 9 February from 11am-12pm on One Family’s Facebook page. Join in and post your questions.
Next you might like to read 10 ways to Improve your child’s Self Esteem, 10 ways to Be Assertive or 10 ways to Improve Listening in the Home
Find out more about our parenting skills programmes and parent supports. For support and information on these or any related topics, call askonefamily on lo-call 1890 66 22 12 or email support@onefamily.ie.
