One of the most frustrating parts of being the parent of a newborn baby is that neither of you can communicate with the other. Your baby is crying and she doesn’t understand your questions about why, nor can she explain herself.

When your baby gets to be a few years older, this frustration is replaced with another one. Now both of you can communicate just fine. You’re both using the same words, and you both understand one another when you talk.

Now if only you could get her to listen.

Teaching your child to listen to what you and other people are saying is one of the most difficult challenges of parenting, but it’s also one of the most essential. Without listening, your child is going to be hard-pressed to learn new things or obey your directions, and you’ll be constantly frustrated by having to repeat yourself over and over again.

Fortunately, there are a few tricks to teaching your child to listen to you, her preschool or kindergarten teachers, and her peers on the playground. Try some of these helpful tips to get your favorite youngster to listen as well as she’s learned to talk.

• Set a good example. When your child sees you cutting off other people in conversation or ignoring them entirely, she gets the impression that this is an okay way to behave. She learns how to interact with other people by watching how you interact with other people, so be sure you listen carefully to others and allow them to come to a full stop before responding. You can also demonstrate that you’ve listened to your child by repeating what she says before responding. “I understand that you don’t want to go to bed, but it’s very late and we’re going to do it anyway.”
• Practice, practice, practice. Help your child learn to listen by developing her memory skills. After you read her a story, ask her to tell you what happened in the story. Ask what each of the characters were doing and why. Start with short books and work up to longer ones. Once she’s gotten pretty good at that, prompt her to recall what people in the real world are saying. “What did your aunt say earlier about what kind of vegetables we should have with dinner?”
• Touch your child. Often, children are more prone to listen if they’re not running around elsewhere. If you really want them to hear what you’re saying, cuddle them close and talk softly in their ear. This comforting stance will help them relax and feel like they’re safe, which means they’d rather stay and listen than run off and do something else.

For wonderful preschool and kindergarten classes that will help your child learn listening skills and much more, check out Discovery School’s West Chester kindergarten, day care, and preschool.

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