The ability to communicate effectively can be described as an essential life skill in the 21st century skills for kids and the better we are at it, the higher our life quality will be. Parents and school activists should realize the importance of communication skills in children’ development phase and begin teaching their kids basic communication skills during their childhood and go on to hone their skills as they grow. Kids shall learn communication skills better with the guidance of parents and school teachers. Hereby, there are several tips Skidos would like to suggest for coaching kids not only to communicate effectively but also politely. And in this article you will learn about: What are the basic communication skills for kids? How can you improve your child’s communication skills? with communication skills activities, games, for your kids.

What can be understood as communication skills?

Communication skills can be described as the ability to express ourselves clearly and confidently in all aspects and areas of our lives. Communication is for transferring information to other people and understand what is said to us, producing greater understanding among people.

Good communication skills will possibly guarantee better understandings among individuals, lessen conflicts and create harmonious atmosphere in many situations. On the contrary, poor communication skills may lead to frequent misunderstanding, frustration and conflicts among people.

What is communication for kids?

Children begin communicating fairly early, since the moment they are born into this world, letting our mothers know they arrived from our first cry. Later on, children must learn how to talk to delve into the human society, to convey their ideas to other people and understand what information others want to transfer to them.

Typically, there are 3 main types of communication in human beings: verbal (with speech), nonverbal (no speech but gestures) and visual. They consist of numerous other skills such as listening, speaking, observing and empathizing; therefore, it is not easy to be a good communicator. That is why parents and school teachers should intervene to develop communication skills in children. While helping children to develop effective communication skills from his young age, you are equipping them straightaway with a vital skill set to build a successful future.

Why Are Communication Skills Important in Child Development?

It is said that having strong communication skills facilitate us in various facets of life, in both personal and professional aspects. Communication skill may take a lifetime to master and it is essential that parents start teaching their children how to communicate well early on for them to be capable of receiving and transferring information effectively.

There are many reasons why communication skills have become more and more important for children to master in recent years:

1. With effective communication skills, children will be able to express themselves clearly to get their ideas across to other people and to be understood by others. It is also essential that children learn how to communicate not only effectively but also politely so they know how to respect other people and will be respected by others.
2. Communication skills can stimulate other important skills to develop such as listening, speaking, observing and sequencing and they are all vital combo skill sets in the development phase of children. A kid who can properly communicate verbally seem to be strong at producing written communications as well, which can greatly help him to achieve better academic results.
3. Communication skills may affect your children life happiness considering that they have to build up social relationship with other people in this big world. With great communication skills, children may find it easier to make friends, connect with their peers, maintain relationship and resolve conflicts.
4. Kids equipped with good communication skills can feel more at ease to share their problems and express their feelings, as a result, parents and school teachers may well receive the verbal signals from them that they are in need of help. Thus, we can provide them help just in time for them to overcome their problems, improve their mental health, fixing their behavioral disorders such as depression, social withdrawal, low self-esteem.

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Which types of Communication skills children should master?

As mentioned before, there are 3 main types of communication in human beings, including verbal (with speech), nonverbal (no speech but gestures) and visual. Interestingly, children are expected to master all these 3 types of communication skills because they are all equally vital to children throughout their lives.

1. Firstly, verbal communication is always required given that we have to speak appropriately with other people to deliver the content of the talk and tailor our language to your audience and to work well in a group. It is vital that kids need to learn to speak properly and clearly to be successful in their lives. In the future, being able to communicate with employers, colleagues and business partners is very important, no matter what company or career your children work in.
2. Secondly, nonverbal gestures are also important for children to capture in order to become good communicators. Children should be taught to maintain eye contact while talking with the person they are conversing to show that they are interested in the conversation and respect the other.

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1. Also, expressing some body languages while talking can be a good way to express the ideas better. It is expected that kids know how to use some body languages to make their talk more attractive and vivid such as using facial expressions, hand gestures, smile and nod.
2. Thirdly, visual communication skills greatly involve in the use of visual aids which can be read or viewed for ideas and information to be conveyed. To be more specific, children are expected to develop communication skills by learning to write clearly and concisely, to draw graphs, charts, maps, books, posters, package design, etc.

How to improve communication skills for kids?

Like any other skills, Skidos believes that communication skills can be fostered and refined by practice. How to practice communication skills for kids? With all our heart, Skidos would like to recommend several useful tips on how to develop children’s communication skills as following:

#1 Talk with your children more often

Kids can learn a lot by imitating their parents and if parents talk to their kids in a regular basis, they can have a greater chance to develop their communication skills. In some cases, children who have trouble communicating may be reluctant to talk at all.

The ultimate goal is to make your kids feel comfortable to start and continue the conversation with you. It is important that parents and school teachers give children encouragement to engage in conversation as much as possible, keep patient to listen to them and ask them relevant questions.

After children got involved into the talk, they can feel more comfortable sharing information and ideas.

There are many occasions to chit chat with your kids, for example, when you all have family meals, go out for a walk in the park, drive your kids home after school or when you all watch T.V together.

Remember to find the relevant topic that your children are interested in for them to be open to express their thoughts with you more easily and hence foster them to deliver meaningful exchange of information with others.

Remember, for children to speak well, parents need to pay attention to speak with correct pronunciation and right grammar in a right speed. That way, children can learn how to speak appropriately from parents.

#2 Play story telling with children

Parents can share what they do and encounter during the day and ask your children back to make it become a daily habit.  If parents and children are accustomed to telling their stories with each other, it can make it easier to communicate when big issues may arise.

In the conversation, parents can also teach their children new words and correct their grammatical errors as well as guide them to use interesting phrases.

Parents can also play story telling games with kids by providing kids with colorful pictures. You can request him to arrange pictures in a logical sequence and make a story from it. Do not forget to get involved with kids’ stories by asking some questions such as, “What will happen next?”, “That is terrific! How did that happen?”

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#3 Teach children about body gestures

When communicating with your children, please make proper eye contact with them. It is better that parents maintain good eye contact with them by sitting down and looking at them in the eyes. It is a way to make them feel comfortable and display your appreciation for their active participation in the conversation.

Sometime, it can be tricky for kids who have communication troubles to understand about nonverbal cues, also known as body language. Parents can show their children how to practice body languages and explain the meaning of body language to them. For example, you can tell them: “Mama is crossing my arms because I feel a bit angry,” or “When you roll your eyes at me, I feel disrespected.” By doing so, children can develop their communication skills much better and faster.

In conclusion, the ability to communicate effectively is a key skill for kids and Skidos believes that there will be a great deal of useful suggestions for fostering communication skills in children available out there. If you have any thoughts or tips, please let us know!

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