What Do You Say? William Stixrud on Effective Communication with Kids

Have you had one of those moments when you said the wrong thing to your child? Perhaps a time when you were angry and didn't communicate effectively? Or a distracted moment when you didn't acknowledge your child's feelings? The reality is, sometimes we're just not in the state of mind to communicate in effective ways. But, effective communication is essential for healthy relationships. So, what can we do to improve communication with our child or children? How should we talk with kids so that they will hear us and we will hear them?   William Stixrud, PhD, co-author of What Do You Say? How to Talk with Kids to Build Stress Tolerance, Motivation, and a Happy Home, joins Mom Enough to discuss how to talk with your children. He shares the importance of effective communication, how to increase the likelihood that your child will actually hear what you are trying to say, and how you can help your child understand their own thoughts and find their own reasons to change. You won't want to miss this insightful episode!   WHAT WILL YOU DO TO COMMUNICATE MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH YOUR CHILD? Children listen better when they feel heard. What can you do to show empathy for your child? What step(s) will you take to listen without judgement? We can't communicate effectively when we're mad. So, next time you're angry with your child, how will you remind yourself to take a step back and save the communication for a time when you're not angry?   WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COMMUNICATION? ❉ HOW YOU SAY IT: A LOOK AT LINGUISTICS WITH KATHERINE KINZLER, PHD. How do children learn language? What role does language play in prejudice? And, how can language play a role in how we fare emotionally and socially during the pandemic? Katherine Kinzler, author of How You Say It: Why You Talk the Way You Do and What It Says about You, addresses these questions and more in this thought-provoking interview with Marti and Erin of Mom Enough.   ❉ LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE, LEARNING THROUGH LANGUAGE: A CONVERSATION WITH U OF M RESEARCHER MELISSA KOENIG. Very young children have a remarkable capacity to learn whatever language (or languages) they hear. But as we get older, we often struggle at learning a second language and may never “speak like a native” (as Marti learned years ago trying to order a beer in Sweden!). Why is that so? And, as parents, what should we do to support our children’s language development in both their primary language and second and third languages? You won’t want to miss this fascinating and helpful discussion with U of M Researcher Melissa Koenig of a topic of great importance in today’s diverse world.   ❉ EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE STIMULATION FOR CHILDREN: BUILDING RICH LANGUAGE LEARNING INTO EVERYDAY LIFE, USING YOUR PRIMARY LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS. You’ve heard how crucial parents are to children’s language development, but does that prompt you to think, “Oh, no, one more thing I have to do!” If so, this Mom Enough guest will ease your mind with great tips on how to work effective language stimulation into things you already are doing.   ❉