5 Empowering Ways to Get Your Kids to Listen (Parenting Tips)

Hi, my name is Ms. Jade and I am a teacher here at the Little Dreamers Nursery. Is listening something that your child struggles with? Well today I’m here to give you some top tips on how to get your child to listen a bit more effectively. Be sure to hit the subscribe button below so that you don’t miss out on future videos from Edarabia.

1. Attention first, get on their level
My first tip is to make sure that you connect with your child prior to asking them a question or giving them a command. To do this its best to get down on their level, make eye contact or give them a gentle touch on their body. You might want to start by commenting on something that they are doing (for example- “wow, I like what you’re doing with the blocks, what did you build?”) then, allow your child to respond before making your request, this way your child will be much more likely to co-operate.

2. Use fewer words- do and not don’t
Try to keep your interactions on the positive side, using more do’s instead of dont’s. Negative commands such as “no” and “don’t” can sometimes confuse children as they are required to then process multiple things instead of one (what should I not be doing? And what shall I do instead?) So, instead of telling your child “Don’t throw the toys all over the floor” you could say “Please keep the toys inside the basket”. This way they only have to listen, process and respond to one thing, therefore your child will be more likely to follow through with the command.

3. Give them a choice
If your ever stuck in a stand-off with your child and they may be being very persistent about a particular matter. This next tactic can work wonders in this type of scenario and it’s as simple as offering your child a choice. For example, “which shoe do you want to put on first? This one or this one? This allows your child to think that they are the one in control. Children of all ages have a hard-wired need for power. When children don’t have opportunities to exert their power in positive ways such as choosing what clothes to wear or picking what game to play they tend to exert their power in negative ways, this is where you will see the challenging behavior.

4. Engage co-operation- say thank you beforehand
All people (children through to adults) thrive from being managed in a positive way. By saying thank you to your child before you give your instruction your child will understand that you trust them to follow through with the direction that you are giving, increasing the likelihood of them actually doing it. So try saying “thank you for cleaning up your toys when you have finished with them, it makes me so happy”. Try it- it really works!

5. Routine, Routine, Routine
Lastly, as we all know and understand a solid routine is imperative and also ensures that children are naturally conditioned to what is about to happen. When a child is settled into a routine they are already expecting that you are about to ask them to tidy up or brush their teeth or go to bed (especially if you give a warning a few minutes before), whilst this might not work all the time having a routine will help to minimize the likelihood of your child ‘not listening’ as such, as they are already aware of what’s about to come.

The following transcript is auto-generated from Youtube

hi everybody my name is Miss Jade and
I’m a teacher here at the little
dreamers nursery is listening something
your child struggles with then don’t
worry today I’m here to give you five of
my top tips to help your child listen a
little bit more effectively be sure to
hit the subscribe button below so you
don’t miss out on any educational videos
from Ed Arabia and please feel free to
leave a comment or any suggestions below
thank you my first tip is to make sure
you establish a connection first with
your child before giving them a question
or asking them to do something so first
of all you want to make sure you get
down onto their level you can give them
a gentle touch on their arm and
establish eye contact you might want to
talk about something that they’re doing
in that moment so for example wow I
really love what you’re doing there with
the blocks please tell me what did you
build then allow your child to respond
to your own question before giving your
own request this way your child is much
more likely to follow through with what
you’re asking them to do tip number two
try to keep your interactions simple and
on the positive side negative commands
which involve no and don’t tend to
confuse children a little bit they’re
required to process multiple things
instead of one so when you say to your
child know don’t throw your toys all
over the floor they have to think about
what they shouldn’t be doing and what
they should be doing instead so next
time instead of saying that you can say
to them please try and keep your toys
inside the basket this is much simpler
and your child will respond to it much
better they’ll be much more likely to
follow through with what you’re asking
them to do have you ever been stuck in a
standoff with your child where you
really want them to do something but
they’re very persistent in not doing it
because it’s what they it’s not what
they want to do there’s this simple
tactic you can use in this scenario and
it’s as simple as giving them a choice
so for example if you want to leave the
house and you want your child to wear
their shoes so that you can go and your
child does not want to put them on you
could say to them okay
should you want to well first this one
or this one by doing this you’re
allowing your child to feel that they
are the one that’s in control and
they’ll be much more likely to wear the
shoe so that you can leave and get on
with your day tip number four try to
engage your child’s cooperation before a
problem arises so picture this your
children are playing together and you
can sense that something is about to
happen once you sense it you can say to
your child or children thank you so much
for playing nicely together I’m so proud
of you your children love you and they
want to make you happy and by saying
this you’re going to raise their
confidence and self-esteem and they’ll
want to follow through with what you’re
asking them to do you’re diminishing the
problem before it even started so try
this one next time it really works
lastly as we all know and understand a
solid routine is imperative for young
children it helps to naturally condition
them to what’s about to happen next
there are a few ways in which you can do
it before a transition time such as
brushing their teeth or hygiene go up or
go into bed you can give them a warning
a few minutes beforehand it could be
five minutes or two minutes or even one
minute just to help them prepare for the
change in routine you could also use a
visual time table for those children
that really do struggle with their day
and what’s about to happen next and
you’ll find over time that your children
will be naturally conditioned to that as
well so you won’t have too much of an
issue this is more of a preventative
measure to help your children not live
in not listening as search that was five
of my top tips that have helped music
teacher in the classroom and as a parent
as well I hope that they helped you in
some way thank you so much for watching
and happy parenting
you