From the moment we were born, clear and effective communication has been crucial for our well-being. We began with whining, crying, and screaming when we needed something. As we grew older, we learned more advanced methods of communication, but it remained just as important. Life simply becomes better when we can express our needs and thoughts. That’s why it’s so important for children to develop good communication skills.
Communication In school, students should be able to express their opinions and share their thoughts with others. They must also present academic content to each other and explain what they have understood, done, and created. At the same time, they need to handle disagreements and conflicts while maintaining friendships. It’s not easy, and often things go wrong. Instead, children get excluded, bullied, or end up in fights. Similar challenges await them during their free time. Here, too, they need to communicate in activities like team sports, music bands, and outdoor activities.
Life teaches us communication
Training in communication starts from day one in life. Through facial expressions, body language, and speech, young children pick up on what others are expressing, and soon they learn to do the same. Every single day, as long as we don’t live in complete isolation, we are challenged in various forms of communication. If we gain diverse experiences, we also encounter various training situations.
How to provide communication training for children
Parents and other adults can assist children in this development in several ways. Firstly, it helps to talk a lot with children and encourage them to do the same. Discuss what you are experiencing, where you are going, or ask how the child is feeling. If you have a child who is nervous about talking to others, you can engage in role-playing and practice different situations. Children can also benefit from becoming aware of their own and others’ body language, such as crossed arms indicating anger, and looking away indicating shyness or anxiety.
Communication through play
Communication games can also be a fun way to practice communication. For example, you can “throw” questions back and forth to each other. Person 1 asks a question, and Person 2 answers before asking a new question. This continues back and forth. Another game involves describing something for someone else to draw. In this game, you sit back to back. Person 1 holds the item to be drawn, while Person 2 has paper and drawing materials. Then, Person 1 describes what should be drawn. A similar game is “the mysterious garden.” Here, you create a map of a garden with many trees in two copies. Person 1 decides where a treasure is hidden and then explains to Person 2 how to find it by going straight ahead or turning right and left.
Communication in science
Conducting experiments and research also offers many opportunities for communication. This can involve collecting data and presenting it orally and in writing to others. It also provides good practice in communication when explaining and justifying a hypothesis. And children who research together must communicate with each other throughout the research process. Real scientists work in a similar way. They need to communicate with students, colleagues, and the general public. Additionally, they must be skilled in written communication when writing articles and books or participating in debates.
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