Communication is a fundamental part of the social aspect of human life and to be effective, certain skills are required.

Communication with children can sometimes be difficult due to the fact that children have not yet developed communication skills. Teaching communication skills to our children is not only necessary in order to achieve effective communication, but is also a very important part of the socialization process.

The following tips will help you improve the communication with your children and teach them some basic communication skills.

-Communication starts on day one. Crying is a primary form of communication, as it’s the only way a baby knows how to reach out. And that is why we shouldn’t ignore a crying baby. During these first stages of a child’s life it’s really important to communicate with our baby by talking, singing and hugging. This is the first lesson on how communication between you should be.

-Keep the communication channels open. Limiting the communication based on your schedule and subjects that only you think that are important, you will only make the child reluctant to express himself and communicate with you about the things that are important to him. Instead, try to encourage the child to talk freely, even for things that you may not consider so important.

-Follow some basic communication principles

• • Always pay attention to what a child has to say, while avoiding distractions
• Share the child’s feelings on the subject of the conversation
• Get physically to the level of the child and keep eye contact
• Be polite and keep a friendly tone
• Avoid judging, negative labels and any behavior that may undermine the child’s trust to you
• Show acceptance to the child and acknowledge the effort to communicate with you
• Encourage the child to express his feelings
• Help the child to come up with his own solutions for whatever is bothering him

- To encourage communication, we have to be creative. A joke is usually enough to start a conversation with a child. Note that communication is not all about talking. Communication is also about laughing, playing, singing and generally doing things together.

- Books, books, books. Reading books is one of the most important things to do if you want to help your child learn some communication skills. Books help children enrich their vocabulary and learn how to communicate their ideas, opinions and feelings. Identifying with a book hero helps children develop empathy, which is basic for communication and develop critical thinking.