Parents could benefit greatly from improving their communication skills.
Communication skills require and involve much more than hearing words and talking. Communication is a complicated process which is more often than not fowled up during the process.
Parents can learn to play a bigger and better role on the listening end first and foremost. The parents can learn to be sure the clarify what they think they are hearing their child say and what they mean. Interpretation is often another problem.
Parents can then also learn to think about how to proceed instead of being reactive. Most parents do not have optimal parenting skills regarding their ability to manage their reactivity vs. proactive approaches to children and especially challenging situations.
There are many techniques and responses parents can provide to their children which will promote a healthy interaction, further discussion and clarity , as well as a positive outcome. Parents need to learn these techniques.
Some of these techniques involve: feedback, probing, crisis management, acknowledgment of feelings, gathering more information, ignoring, informing, humor, positive sandwich statements, giving choices, clarification, using "I" statements, and sometimes implementation.
Ususally these techniques take practice but if parents are committed to being positive effective parents and being healthier then the time and efforts invested will reap phenomenal benefits!
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