Listening to children The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child shows a child’s right to his or her own views in all matters and the right to the freedom of expression. This includes the right to receive and be part of information about themselves. All people around children need to make sure that rights are upheld and matters affecting children are looked after. Children can experience worries at home, at school or with their peers and children need to talk about their issues. Parents, professionals and practitioners need to pay attention not only to what children say, but also what they are saying. They also need to pay attention to behaviours, listening to the child and building a trusting relationship. It is key that children are involved …show more content…
It can also enhance the relationship between a child and an adult. To encourage children to talk, it can be useful to have a bag containing toys, colouring pencils, paper, flash cards and worksheets. These items could also support communicating with a child with a learning disability. Older children may find it hard to communicate because they fear their private thoughts will be exposed. A range of things can be used to encourage an older child to talk. Such as, diaries and scrapbooks. Some older children would find it useful to talk while on the move. Like going for a walk or travelling in the car. This prevents them having to look at the person they are communicating with. Communicating with very young children Communicating with children under the age of five can bring different challenges. Potential barriers to communicating with children under five include: hostile or non-compliant parents, lack of confidence, lack of resources to work creatively and not being able to talk Examples of ways to communicate with children under five include: working with metaphors – using objects such as figures and animals, using objects to represent themselves and others and placing them near as far away as the child wishes, art or creative play, masks or worksheets with faces showing different feelings and take what children say seriously and