The Parenting Course – Reflecting back
This session of The Parenting Course was about listening to our children which is something I am not always good at. I was challenged to pay full attention when my children talk to me and stop cooking or blogging(!), turn and look at them and listen properly. If I really can’t stop my task then I need to say that I am busy but in 10 minutes I will stop and listen. And then remember to do so. The other important thing I learnt was about reflecting back and repeating back to your child what he has said to you. This will ensure that you are really hearing what they are saying and helps them give their feelings a name. It is so easy to jump in with advice or reassurance while it is far better to empathise with them – advice would be appropriate at a later stage.
If you want to know more about The Parenting Course, click on this link to read my initial post about the course. Here is a link to the Holy Trinity Brompton website which has a video about the course www.relationshipcentral.org.
Help! I'm a stay-at-home mum 
Thank you so much for reminding! This is the busiest time of the year for me – and maybe for most people? – and it is so important to shift down a gear. The listening is not the most important thing, you’re right: it’s much more important to give your whole attention to the child, to stop doing other things while talking to him or her, and to repeat what they’ve said. By the way, I ask the same from my children: when I talk to them and they are “busy”, I ask them to repeat what I said… Is there any course about how to be a listening child? (I’m kidding… ;-))
I wish there was a course for children! The scary thing is that they are watching us ALL the time and we are their role models to teach good and bad habits – I guess if we try to model ‘good listening habits’ they may learn to listen to us. Here’s hoping!
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