Observing Communication 2

I have learn a lot from the reading this week with communicating with young children. I never knew that babies felt like that were being dismissed when you are talking to them but not looking directly at them. Eye contact is important when speaking to a child. You should use hand gestures when speaking to children. You should talk to a child at their level instead of talking to them at an adult level.

I remember a visit with friends of mine some years ago. I can't remember how old their baby was. We were sitting in the living room having a conversation, and my friend's daughter started babbling. His wife started back talking to their daughtering in the baby language and for about a minute the mother and daughter had a conversation. The daughter was sitting in her mother's lap, and they were looking directly at each other. After the conversation was finished, I asked the mother did she understand her daughter, and she said yes. Next, I asked the father did her understand the conversation, and he said no.

Recently, My nephew girlfriend's daughter came over to visit. I was sitting at the kitchen table with my sister and my brother. We said hi to her, and she said hi back. I think she is between two and three years old. She begin to tell us how mad she was at her mother, and she wasn't speaking to her mother. My brother asked me and our sister did we understand what she was saying and we said yes. While she was talking I was making eye contact with her, and I was engaging in conversation with her. I have learned to let the child finish speaking before you engage with them.