Observing Communication

Provide an account of your observation.

 I observed a child at the doctor’s office waiting to be called by the nurse to see the doctor.

 Describe what you noticed and learned.

The first thing that grabbed my attention was that the child asked his mom to read him a book. She told him: “not now, I am chatting with daddy, go play with blocks”. The child started playing with blocks, and in the middle of his play, he asked his mom to come and see the tall tower that he is building. His mom said: “Go finish it and then when you are completely done, I will see it”.  

      
Make connections between what you observed and the effective communication strategies presented in this week’s learning resources. What could have been done to make the communication more affirming and effective?

 Lisa Kolbeck, director of the Little School, in this week’s media segment shared important elements to effective communication with young children. She models sensitivity, respect, acceptance, reflective thinking, and provides the space for each child to be her unique (Laureate, 2011). Lisa kolbeck stated that the way she knows about children is by watching their play and by asking children questions that help them imagine and move to their next play action (Laureate, 2011). An important element of successful communication in Lisa Kolbeck’s opinion is to help children know who they are and to make them feel respected and accepted for whom they are and heard (Laureate, 2011).

I noticed that this mother all what she wanted is to keep her son away from her. She didn’t make him feel that his needs are respected. He asked her to read him the book and she tried to redirect him to another activity. She didn’t watch his play and didn’t ask him questions that helped him think and go to other levels in his play.  

 Share your thoughts with regard to how the communication interactions you observed may have affected the child's feelings and/or any influences it may have had on the child's sense of self worth.

 By not acknowledging her child’s efforts, not respecting his needs, not being responsive and not asking him questions that help him imagine and feel that his work is respected; this mother could have done damage to the child’s self confidence and willingness to communicate. The child wanted her attention and she wasn’t willing to give him any attention.

 Offer insights on how the adult-child communication you observed this week compares to the ways in which you communicate with the children. What have you learned about yourself this week with respect to how well you talk with and listen to young children? In what ways could you improve?

 I consider myself to communicate well with children. I give children attention. I observe their play and try as much as possible to ask them questions to provoke their thinking. I am very flexible; I follow children’s interests and try not to assume anything about them. I acknowledge them and what they say; I am responsive and always ensure that children feel visible, heard, and accepted. However, sometimes I feel that I have to slow down a bit and don’t rush my students. I have to work on this in order to effectively communicate with my students.

 

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Communicating with Young Children. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6488776&Survey=1&47=8284450&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1