When you use active listening, you open up the possibility of learning, teaching, and problem solving.

Active listening…

• Builds a strong parent-child connection

• Helps children understand the messages behind words

• Opens the door for problem solving

• Encourages your child’s ability to express and recognize feelings

• Shows understand and empathy

Making “I” statements

• Describe your child’s behavior, “I see you dumped all of your crayons on the floor.”

• Express how the behavior makes you feel, “When I give you time to finish your drawing and then ask you to come to dinner and instead you keep coloring, I get very frustrated.”

• Place blame on the behavior, not your child. For example, “When you yell very loudly, it scares me.”

• Are non-judgmental (don’t use negative labels)

• Decrease tension by modeling a calm reaction and recognizing how your child is feeling.