Mad River Behavioral Health

When infants cry they are trying to communicate something important to you.   Ignore them and you begin establishing a non-responsive parent-child relational pattern.   Respond with annoyance and you begin establishing an inconvenienced parent-child relational pattern.   Engage in responsive listening and problem-solving and you begin establishing a nurturing parent-child relational pattern.  During the first three years of life, it is best if parents are available, responsive, and loving in meeting all of the child's needs.  Be responsive; warm and loving Be verbal; talk, read, and sing to your child Encourage safe explorations and play  Begin gently teaching and guiding  Recognize that each child is unique Take care of yourself Kenneth H. Little, MA / 135 Lee Brook Road / Thornton, NH 03285 / 603-726-1006 / Achieve-ES.com  

Most children do not have highly developed communication skills or the introspective self-awareness required to know and express accurately how or why they feel as they do. Often times children use non-verbal methods for expressing what they cannot quite find the words to say.  For example, a toddler may scream, cry, and / flop on the floor to express frustration; a child may cover her ears to block out sound; a teen might slam the door. How do we understand what our children are trying to say? In order to understand, parents need to: not take the communication personally, remain calm,  be empathic, and  be curious. Don't take it personally and try to stay calm.  Work to remain objective so that you can observe with a clear mind.  This is at times extremely difficult, but it's necessary to being an objective observer. If you take it personally or feel that your child is being disrespectful, you will be attending to your needs, not your child's. Kee...