By LaToya Dawkins

          Some of our preschoolers have the gift of talking, while others can go through an entire day without saying a word. Some learn how to talk before they learn how to walk and others after. Often times, parents are concerned if their children do not begin to talk at their expected age because being able to verbally express yourself is a sign of intelligence. Yes, talking is important but communicating and articulating your words, is of the utmost importance. It is imperative that preschoolers learn to communicate in a way that will help others understand them and in a way that will help them understand others. Whether communication for a preschooler has been delayed or booming there are ways to help your preschooler communicate better.

            Communication is the key to understanding the world around us. We learn to talk in all types of ways, including body language and reading. However, the main way most people learn how to communicate is by listening to others around them. When talking to our preschoolers we must remember to speak their language. Oftentimes, their language is simple but detailed, colorful but minimal. We must learn to talk the same way.  When explaining a new idea, we can be more effective by explaining a lot with the least amount of detail. For example, when explaining an object, always have it with you because your preschooler can connect what you’re communicating to what they are seeing. They will receive more information and it will prompt them to ask questions. Before either of you realize it, you will be conversing with your preschooler.  As their communication skills continue to develop, challenge them and gradually begin to communicate in a more complex way.

            Questions are what encourage your child to communicate. When they are asked open-ended questions, it causes them to think, gather their thoughts, and verbally release those thoughts. It also helps them to think more abstractly and therefore communicate in an elaborate way.  When asking our preschoolers questions, we should try to stay away from asking repetitive, rhetorical and unrelated questions; they should be different, promotable and related to the current setting or circumstance. The goal is to get them to think intuitively and then formulate their words in a comprehensive way.

 As adults we can go throughout our day multi-tasking while hearing our preschoolers talk but we should try to give our preschoolers our undivided attention when they are communicating with us. Attention includes eye contact and active listening. While we are actively listening, we will be prepared to ask further questions to support the verbal exchange. As they are talking, we must try our best to not pressure them or rush them. Sometimes, as our preschoolers are developing their ideas, it causes them to hesitate or communicate in broken phrases. As a teacher, when I see a child that develops ideas faster in their head than the way they speak, I often tell them to think about what they want to say and then talk. To that end, I affirm them and show them that what they are trying to say to me is important.

            Therefore, in regards to the rules of communication, the easiest way to communicate the rules is for me to simply advise you to “Stop, look and listen.”