Communication skills enhance with practice. This is especially true of children. Not old enough to have developed rigid bad habits, kids are literal sponges of growth able to learn a great deal about conflict resolution and problem solving once their communication skills have begun to mature.
Teaching Effective Communication Skills
One of the reasons that kids have a hard time communicating is because they have such limited experience in the matter. As a result, children tend to panic when faced with conflict and either seek an immediate way out or become overly aggressive. If not shown alternative methods of resolution, children exhibiting these bad habits are never given the opportunity to improve and subsequently become poor communicators as adults.
The best way for adults to teach children effective communication skills is through example. Are you someone who tends to explode over conflict and/or are easily angered? If so, then chances are you had a parent who did the same thing. Rather than continue the pattern of bad behavior with your own child, you might want to consider altering your behavior for your childs sake.
In addition to learning by example, many kids learn communication skills through repetition. If you have witnessed your son or daughter deal with conflict through violence or aggression, it is important you not react aggressively. You cant, after all, fight fire with fire. Instead, calmly address the situation and show your child the benefits of calm negotiation. Practice role playing with your child until he/she gets the hang of it independently.
