Mazlish is right when she says real listening is hard work. You have to concentrate with children so you don’t just give them pat answers to questions they may have. So here are five tips to being a better listener and helper;
1. DESCRIBE — to the child what YOU hear them being concerned about. Making sure you heard correctly their concern helps both of you focus on what needs to be done.
2. GIVE INFORMATION — You have life experience that when shared with the child will give them a gift of problem solving that will last a lifetime.
3. KEEP IT BRIEF — Since kids have short attention spans, any information from you that goes beyond a few brief sentences will be lost.
4. DESCRIBE WHAT YOU FEEL — Let your child know that you too experience frustration and impatience when things don’t work out like you want them to.
5. WRITE A NOTE — They now have talking cards that my grand-kids are just crazy about. Send one to your child so they know you are thinking of them.
Print a copy of these five techniques and check yourself out on how you are doing. Discuss these techniques with other mentors to see how well they work.
Next week, encouraging autonomy.