Constructive Communication: A Solid Foundation for Effective and Successful Parenting

“Parent-child relationships. Among these are quality parenting practices including committing to one-on-one time with each child, affirming their strengths, reinforcing positive behaviors, listening without judgment, accepting ambivalent feelings, reflecting understanding, connecting words to feelings, allowing silence and giving children space to not talk.” 1

though they are understood. Therefore, to make a child and young person feel this way they need to learn to develop good relationships, this is mainly achieved through effective communication. This involves listening and understanding, engaging with the person, showing respect and interpreting tone, eye contact and voice. Through effective communication they can feel that their values and opinions are important and that they are being listened to and understood.

I have learned that being able to utilise good communication skills is fundamental when working with children. It is so important to building and supporting ongoing relationships, which, along with listening,

POSITIVE: Maintaining good relations with Parents, Carers is an essential element in the healthy development of a child. This then enables the practitioner to understand the child more (i.e. how the child behaves at home and alternatively how the child behaves at school). Parents may be then able to voice any concerns they have with the practitioner and this will therefore result in a healthy parent – practitioner relationship allowing good communication which will aid in them both in aiding the child. Each communication technique needs to be varied for each child.

Effective communication is important in developing positive relationships with children, young people and adults alike. It is the central key to establishing and maintaining such positive relationships. It means listening, questioning, understanding and responding to match each individual’s stage of development, their age, personal circumstances and their needs. It is important for the communication to be on the same level as the person you are speaking to so that neither person seems to have more power than the other. Good communication is not just about listening and speaking, it is also about watching and feeling. Excellent communication builds trust in relationships with all.

Communication plays a massive part once building a relationship in the work setting. By regularly keeping effective communication between practioners, parents/careers and children makes a positive working environment. The relationships are mostly based on the type of communication between one another, communication is not just by verbally but also the body language we show, facial expressions and our gestures.

Effective communication is important in developing positive relationships with children and young adults because it helps the child to be able to communicate effectively with other people as they grow. Children react better to clear, concise communication and this in turn will help to build better relationships between child and adult and enable trust to grow, which is one of the key elements in building a relationship. It is also important to listen to the child and let them say what they want to say. Do not try to pre-empt or interrupt them. Try to keep your language and explanation simple and to the point. Make them feel that what

Communication is a key element in every aspect of our lives and is a way of sharing information from one party to another. It is important that people communicate to help build relationships between parents, practitioners, health care professionals and any other person who may have contact with a particular child. By keeping open channels of communication we are able maintain relationships between all parties. Communication is a way of expressing our feelings, building trust

Communication is extremely important in the workplace as it is essential that you develop good communications with everyone. This will then ensure that you develop a strong positive relationship, work well together and be able to share and gain information with each other. This will mean you can all work together to meet the needs of the children, young people and adults in the setting. If you do not have good relationships then it may cause bad feeling and a divide between colleagues. It may be the case that you will all not work well together or be able to share information then the parents and children may suffer. It is important to have good communication with the children in the setting as this ensures you have a good relationship with them which will help them feel more comfortable with us, which will help them settle in or provide reassurance during transitions in their lives as well as supporting them in their play and learning. It is also important that we remember that we are a role model to children and what behaviour we expect of them must be remembered by ourselves. Failing to do so will cause problems for children to understand the boundaries of what is acceptable. If parents see that you have a good relationship with the children it will help them feel more relaxed and helps them to trust us to care for their children.

During the placement I was able to spend time observing interactions between parents, children and staff. I witnessed many positive aspects in the schools approach to engaging parents and was particularly impressed by their open door policy for parents and the support provided to families in times of need by the learning mentors. As part of the admission process to the school, staff visit the parents and child at home and discuss the implementation of the home-school agreement (appendix 1.b). This agreement sets out the expectations of each of the parent, school and child in regard to their actions and attitude towards their time in school. This is often one of the first interactions teacher and parents have and Grayson (2011) suggests most teachers report these home visits to have a lasting positive effect on the child and parent-teacher relationship. During the school’s inspection in 2014 Ofsted identified relationships across the school and with parents as a key strength.

Being able to communicate effectively with children, young people and adults is vital in order to form positive and professional relationships with them. It can help build self-worth and confidence in a child, young person or adult whilst also promote trust. Effective communication needs to be direct, quick and easily understood by the recipient. If not, it can cause a breakdown in communication leading to misunderstandings and have a negative impact on the relationship between those involved. Communicating in a positive way and getting to know the people involved can be useful in understanding their own individual needs. Some children do not have the same positive relationships at home with family members as they do at school, and so they

Understanding the importance of a family-school partnership is essential in order for school districts and families with children to grow and strive. If an imbalance occurs within any of the various parts that play a key role, difficulties will rise to the surface. Several of these roles include: communication, decision making, volunteering, and learning and parenting at home. All of these factors must work together in order to create a successful school environment in which children are able to learn and strive. When a school is successful in fulfilling each of these roles, there are several benefits. These benefits include: better positive attitudes toward school, higher achievements, better attendance, higher graduation rates, an increase in enrollment rates in post-secondary education, and overall better schools to attend (University of West Virginia).

This book teaches how to be more effective in communicating with children, which many parents can lack often due to stress or tiredness or just plain lack of decent communication skills

Reason to Listen: Without learning about effective ways to parent, it can become a daunting task to raise a child.

Good communication is an important parenting skill. Whether you are parenting a toddler or a teenager, good communication is the key to building self-esteem as well a mutual respect. It is extremely important for parents to be able to communicate clearly and efficiently with their children. An open and effective communication line between parents and their children, benefits not only the children, but every member of the family. Relationships between parents and their children are notably improved when there is productive communication taking place. Basically, if communication between parents and their children is satisfying, then their relationships are gratifying as well.