How good are your communication skills? You always want to
keep the line of communication open with your children, but sometimes
as children start reaching adolescent and teenage years, it may
become somewhat more difficult. Have you asked yourself if you are
asking the right questions?
verbal and nonverbal communication
Communication is an
art form. There is a reason for open-ended questions. This communication is to gain a better
understanding and comprehension. Have you ever talked to your
children and observed after asking a question the answer was just
“yes” or “no.” Possibly you wanted to hear more than that.
Maybe if you ask the right questions, you will hear more.
1. “Tell Me
About”
This open-ended
question can open up an entire field of communication. They love the
empowerment of knowing something that you might not know. They may
be more than willing to tell you their perspective. This is not
only a good question for your children, but for adults as well.
Example, you might ask your child, “”Tell me about the class that
you said you really liked.”
2. Feelings
When a child tells
you something good or bad, you might ask, “How does that make you
feel?” I like that question because there are times children may
not be aware of their feelings at the time. It does not hurt to
discuss whether they are feeling angry, anxious, sad, or good.
3. Different
Another good
question is, “What would you have done differently?” That is a
question that I even sometimes ask myself. This question starts
your child to thinking. We all know there may be several options or
alternatives to problems. Sometimes it is great to just explore
those alternatives.
4. Favorite
“What is your
favorite class?” This question will start your children to
thinking what subject they like or dislike most of all. In fact
many of these open-end questions are good for adults as well.
What open-ended
questions do you ask your children?
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21 comments:
These should get the conversational ball rolling. It's been so long since I've had children at home I've forgotten which questions worked for us. My son was easy. He was always bursting with something he wanted to tell us. It was hard to pry anything out of our daughter.
Barbara isen't it something how God has made each child uniquely? Thanks for stopping by anointedtoday.blogspot.com.
Thank you for attending the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty. I shared your post on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Your welcome Grammy. Thank you.
That is such a good idea for conversation. I think it is easy to slip out of this practice. It is good to be reminded to make the extra effort.
Thanks, Betty this is good stuff.
Kathleen
Blogger's Pit Stop
Thanks Kathleen.
You have some very good ideas and tips for those questions that kids ask, but I haven't had to deal with that for many years so I forget what it was like to be put on the spot. Congratulations on being featured on HHG&N blog hop.
Thanks Marla.
Cool ideas. I think I'm going to use that tell me about with an adult grandson. Congrats on being featured (I pinned it). Visiting the HHGN party. Nancy A with "Creative Gift Ideas Women Love."
I love using "tell me about" or "what was your favorite"... those are great conversation starters.
Closed ended questions bring conversations to an abrupt end. Open ended are so very important. It is also of the utmost importance to allow the person answering the question to answer in their entirety.
Sounds good Nancy.
I agree Mother of 3.
I agree Dr. Elise.
These are all great suggestions to get the conversation started. It's so very important to keep talking to our kids or in my case, grandkids! Thank you for sharing at Party in Your PJ's.
Your welcome aginglikeafinewine.
As an educator, I really appreciate these suggestions for ways to get children to talk. Thanks for sharing at the Weekend Blog Hop at My Flagstaff Home. Hope to see you again next week! --Jennifer
Great tips, Betty! I will gladly take a long drawn-out tale of my son's day rather than a quick yes or no. Thanks for sharing on Traffic Jam Weekend. It is my fave feature for this week's linky party.
Very good suggestions! I enjoyed Reading your post that I found over at Janice's party. Have a great weekend.
As mums, we rush to sentences first, but you are right in saying that our best first move is to a question.
Thank you for stopping by Michele Morin. Come Back soon.
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