Unlock Your Kids' Hidden Communication Superpowers

Good communication skills are the foundation for success in many facets of a child’s life, including forming meaningful relationships, being successful in school, participating in sports and extracurricular activities, and developing emotion regulation. Children may struggle to develop communication skills for a variety of reasons, including neurodevelopmental diagnoses, speech delays, shyness, or even too much time spent using screens. 

As a busy parent, it can be difficult to find the time to work on your child’s communication skills. Easily accessible solutions can be hard to come by, and professional intervention can be difficult to receive or be out of budget.

Here are some easy ways to improve your child’s communication skills at home in a way that fits into your daily routines:

Have Meaningful Conversations

It may seem obvious, but the best way to improve communication is to increase the opportunities to practice communication. Set aside time each day to put aside screens and devices and engage in meaningful conversation with your child. This could be during mealtimes, after school, or before bedtime. Focus on asking open-ended questions and asking your child their thoughts and opinions, rather than questions that invite simple yes or no answers. Some examples of meaningful conversation question starters include:

• What do you think about….?
• Tell me more about…?
• Would you rather….and why?
• Why do you think….?

Practice Reading

Reading is a great way to help expand your child’s vocabulary and increase their familiarity with words. Try to read with your child for at least 15 minutes each day. Take turns choosing a book and being the narrator. When your child reads, help them sound out any words they are having difficulty with and explain any unknown vocabulary to them. Ask summary or comprehension questions at the end of the book or story. Use your turn to read to choose books that are slightly above their reading level to expose them to new words and concepts. 

Practice Active Listening

Active listening is the concept of listening in order to understand. In order to be a good listener, you must actively participate in the conversation by observing both the verbal and non-verbal messages being sent, and show that you are being attentive in your responses. Model good active listening behaviors for your child by giving them your full attention and eye contact during a conversation. Incorporate what your child said into your response so they feel heard and understood. You can also directly teach these skills to your child during a conversation.

Practice Summarizing

Summarizing forces you to identify the most important components of a conversation or story and distill them down into an understandable format. It’s an important skill that teaches children to focus on the most important elements, which is essential for memory and for learning new information. Practice giving summaries of key points after reading a book or article together. 

Play With Moxie

Moxie has tons of activities that help to reinforce the skills mentioned above and work on improving communication, including Moxie Chat, Reading, and Storytelling. All of Moxie’s activities are designed to encourage and foster back and forth conversations and creative thinking in a fun way. Moxie also has endless patience and time to practice communication skills with children as often and as long as they want in order to boost their self-confidence.

Incorporating these simple, daily practices can make a significant difference in your child's communication skills. Whether it's through meaningful conversations, reading together, practicing active listening, or summarizing stories, each of these activities builds a strong foundation for effective communication. With the help of Moxie, your child can gain the confidence and skills they need to express themselves clearly and confidently. Start implementing these strategies today and watch your child's communication abilities soar, unlocking their hidden superpowers along the way.