5 Tips for Listening to Mother!

Are you sitting comfortably? Getting preschoolers into listening to Mother needs some Tips!

(Listen with Mother was a BBC radio programme for children which ran between 1950 and 1982. The show opened with the phrase “Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.”)

So let’s begin with 5 tips for a healthy listening environment

In the movie ‘Tangled’ ...(Rapunzel), the wicked witch sings this song:

                              ” trust me, pet

Mother knows best

Mother knows best

Listen to your mother

It’s a scary world out there

Mother knows best

One way or another

Something will go wrong”

We are always worried as mothers about something going wrong! And at the end of the day it’s going to happen anyway and then BAM! something does; she throws up,

he scrapes his knee, she bangs her head, he breaks his hand…the house is a wreck and someone is going to stop by and it’s just too much.

Why don’t kids listen to their mothers?  Why don’t kids listen to us! When dad gets home he says one word or gives them one look and all chaos stops. Then Dad says honey you are just too soft

on the kids and that’s why they won’t listen to you. That makes us mothers furious, we all know that feeling; I have been talking to these children all day and they have not listened to one word at all!!!!

What can I do to make my children listen to ME , (ME their MOTHER)!!!!

5 Tips for creating a healthy listening environment  Part 1

It is important to have a calm mother and a calm child for healthy listening to be productive. Communication with and around children has to be measured and it’s not possible in every tantrum or in every dinner time to keep everyone at the same level.

Eating on time is important, getting enough sleep is important and sticking to a routine that works for you and children is a must. However we all know these things so what else can we do? Here are some key things to keep in mind.

 

             1. Get their full attention

Kids get involved fully with the activity they are doing. When they don’t answer it’s usually because they just didn’t actually hear what you said.

And if they hear what you say they are so consumed with their activity that they are unable to pull themselves away to fully listen and respond as we want them to.

Remember if the TV is on then they are not here with you, they are in that universe and nothing else takes priority.

            2. Repeat, repeat, repeat

Young kids forget very easily. Older kids forget too but in a different way. At the stage of preschoolers and young kids, they are assimilating information every minute. Their learning is constant.

We have to help them to stop, slow down and do one thing at a time. When we repeat the things we want to see verbally it begins to become like a routine.

Remember the 4 and 5 year old has a growing vocabulary so they don’t understand every word you use.

             3.  What is the result of listening

If they listen what happens. If they don’t what happens? Set the same consequence each time for a specific unwanted behavior.

Ask your child if they have in fact understood what you want from them. You will be surprised at what they think you are asking!

              4.   Are you interrupting?

Make sure you really need their attention right at that moment. Listening is different from being startled or calling for their immediate attention. If you want them to listen then call them. Some times we have different names for our children. Why not let them realize that when they hear Ann, it’s more immediate than Annie 🙂

               5.  Listening to mother means respect

From preschool days your child should learn that  listening to mother means you have respect for Mom or Dad. Not only respect for what she or he is saying but also for the person who is their Mom or Dad. A listening environment in the family means discipline gets easier.

Also it spreads to school as they grow older.