Here's the thing about kids. They don't always tell us what they're thinking. When we don't know, we can't help and let's face it, they do need our help from time to time.
Despite evidence to the contrary, kids want to be heard. Really heard. In this respect, they're no different from us adults. In another respect, they are very different. Kids can't express themselves as articulately as adults. They can't help it. It's a developmental thing.
What they lack in the area of clear communication skills, they make up for with insight. Kids know themselves well, better than many adults. They haven't yet learned from the "grown-ups" in their lives how to second-guess their feelings and reactions.
Kids know how they feel and they respond to that. Thus; the 2-year-old who throws herself on the grocery store floor and screams, the 10-year-old who insists he didn't hit his sister (not), or the 15-year-old who grows his hair over his face as a shield from the world.
No wonder adults have a hard time listening to kids!
Enter the art of interpreting kids' behavior, really listening, and then teaching and modeling more effective ways of communication.
Your kid. You'd give your life to save theirs. Give them a life saver now. Before they need it. They may even need it now and you just don't know it. Learn to be a world-class, Olympic, gold medal winning listener and communicator. It may be the best investment you'll ever make in your kids' life, or yours for that matter.
