Active listening is a technique that has been in force since at least the second half of the 19th century . It was born from the hand of the humanist psychologist Carl Rogers and since then it has been refining itself, although the fact that it is a highly topical subject is due more to the figure of Thomas Gordon, educator and psychotherapist nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions. (1997, 1998 and 1999), who has been in charge of popularizing this technique to the point of making it a valuable method for parents to learn to listen to their children.
What is active listening
By definition, we can say that the method of active listening is the most respectful way that exists until now to be successful in communication between parents and children. In short, active listening is treating children with respect , something absolutely necessary that is not always the case, and through the so-called “active listening” children can feel heard and not ignored by their elders, something unfortunately very common.
This type of practice makes it easier for children to establish empathy with their parents, significantly improving the emotional ties between them. At the end of the day, what you want is that both parties (both the sender and the receiver) are able to understand the message when something is spoken or communicated.
What is the active listening method for?
- Communicate effectively
The active listening method serves to send and receive a clear message. This method can be applied to children under 12 years of age and consists of understanding and identifying the moods and feelings of the little ones . The technique begins by identifying the right time to channel a message. It almost always manifests itself at the moment of wanting to transmit something, and it is at that moment when parents must connect emotionally with their children so that both are prepared to speak and listen properly.
- Strengthen ties of closeness
The method of active listening in the family consists of caring for children in a special way, and for this it is recommended to listen carefully to the children by standing at eye level to strengthen the bonds of closeness. Although it is a technique widely used by many parents, the truth is that it recently became popular again thanks to the Dukes of Cambridge , William of England and Kate Middleton, through the way they relate to their children. A way of listening and caring for children that allows them to feel safe and protected , and to be aware that they are heard at all times by their parents and that they can count on them. In this way children will also feel that they occupy an important place in their parents’ lives.
As an emotional validation tool
When we use this method as a tool, we are consolidating in the child a deep trace of warmth, closeness, empathy and attention , in addition to strengthening self-esteem, which will serve to face successive stages such as adolescence. Another objective should be to mark the childhood of the little ones in an intelligent and pleasant way, thereby also strengthening their personality and their capacity for empathy and communication.
In short, the subject of active listening is something worth knowing and applying, and that it is a very simple activity that hardly requires us and whose benefits are many. Among all those that we have already mentioned, it also allows parents to get out of their frequent occupations and enter the fabulous universe of children , enjoying family moments with greater quality and attention.
