By: Todd Long
Submitted: 2010-06-08 03:03:53 | Word Count: 785
Parenting is not an easy task as anyone would imagine. However, it can be the most exciting and loving experience if undertaken skillfully and with care. Parents must monitor their children personality and nature helping them to overcome weaknesses and boosting their strength. The special bond between parents and their children places them in the best position to guide and nurture their children. You should watch out every aspect of your behavior towards your child as they tend to imitate and adopt the character of their parents. Using abusive language in front of your children will ruin them as they will definitely take after you. It is very important to understand your child unique nature and support them in shaping up their character (ArticlesBase, 2009). First time parents face a host of enormous challenges in the upbringing of children below 3 years. Some of these challenges are to do with building sense of confidence and instilling a sense of security in the growing child. Every step taken by the parents at this stage can either make or break the child. This means that every step must be approached with a lot of care. The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of relational communication in the growth of a child and also to investigate ways of instilling a sense of security and self confidence.
The theory of relational communication is concerned with evaluation of the way people relate with each other and also seeks to understand how people interact with each other at personal level and also in a group setting (Blanford, 2009). To avoid instances of relational conflict and misunderstanding with your child, the parent must learn to establish effective communication with the child. The theory assumes that communication involves interaction of ones culture, personal history, belief system and attitudes formed throughout life. You should therefore bear in mind that whenever you communicate to your child you are passing more than your message. Whenever you talk you are passing on your character to the growing child. The relationship between the parent and the child will be poor if communication between them deteriorates. Your relationship with your child is therefore built on constant interaction with him whether verbal or behavioral.
Non verbal communication is also equally essential in the relational aspect of communication as Baker et al (n.d.) argues out. The way you behave or act towards your child has a string effect on the way the child perceives the message. If for example, you always shout to him when talking or always quarrel him, he will either develop a sense of hatred towards you or loose confidence in himself. This will have a very negative impact on him later in life. You should try as much as possible to be polite in the way you communicate with your child. Remember that your child forms an opinion too about you from the way you communicate with him. This is the same attitude that affects the way he/she acts towards you and others around him. This is because behavior is learnt and is achieved through imitation. Your words when you speak usually carry a lesser weight than the nonverbal part of your communication. Using your facial expressions and your body language, you create particular impression to your child. A stern look at the child leaves him freezing with fear which has a negative effect with the way he receives your message. A soft smiling approach gives a better reception of your message. Your attention to them is also very valuable in your communication.
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children can be quite possessive and demand a lot of attention so you need to be there for them, in order to create the right impression onto them. When accorded the right attention, the child tends to develop trusting and loving relationship towards their parents. He tends also to be free to them hence making it easier for you to monitor their development. Good communication also enables you to be able to appropriately listen and respond to your child’s needs and feelings (Manczak, 2009). In the process you should train yourself to listen to your child which calls for patience and concentration. Learn to move along the child’s story rather jump into a conclusion or to rubbish her story. Learn to focus your undivided attention at them so that they appreciate your caring and listening value which is likely to shape their life values. If she masters the courage to express her views with you without fear, the more likely that she will learn to share about important things with you in future. It is also important not to interrupt with the child conversation
