(AD) How to Help Your Child with their Communication Skills

Well established communication skills will benefit your child throughout their life. These skills can help children to build confidence, form friendships and perform well with their education. Furthermore, ‘good communication skills’ are often listed as a desirable requirement for most careers. Whilst you may not be thinking about your child's career just yet, setting seeds in place now will be sure to help when the time does come.

There are many ways in which parents can support their children in developing their communication skills and Taunton School is here to help with the following five tips…

1. Children first begin to learn how to communicate by watching and listening to their parents. The more you communicate with your child, the better they will develop these essential skills. Parents should try to set a good example by demonstrating good social skills and manners for their children to replicate. It is also important to teach children how to hold a conversation, how to read body language and how to use eye contact effectively.

2. Starting conversations with new people can be difficult for some children. To help your child feel more confident about speaking to others, it can be useful to prepare a few conversation starters. These could include some really simple compliments or questions, such as 'I like your hair’ or 'what is your favourite sport?'

3. For children who attend school, most playgrounds are busy and loud, and can feel overwhelming to children. For this reason it can be helpful for parents to organise a play date at home with some of their child’s classmates. At home your child may feel more relaxed and confident to communicate with others because they are in a familiar setting.

4. Try to give your child space to grow as an individual and work out issues alone. Disputes with friends are common at school and learning how to resolve these issues alone is an important life-skill. If you make a mistake or have a disagreement with your child, be sure to apologise later on and discuss your feelings together to understand how you can avoid a similar situation in the future.

5. Encourage your child to take part in extra-curricular activities, such as sports or drama. Extra-curricular activities are a great way to boost your child’s self-confidence and develop their communication skills. Your child may also have the opportunity to develop their problem solving and teamwork skills at the same time.

Jada x

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