7 no-fail strategies to get your kid to listen

1. Establish eye contact

I can keep calling from another room, 'Come for supper!' but if I approach them directly and say, 'Hello! They will glance up and say, 'Oh, okay.'" "Please come for dinner now," adds Sarah Lavigne, a mother from Montreal.

2. Explain the issue

Focusing on what must happen rather than the flaws of the children might help defuse tense situations. Say "I see clothes on the floor" instead of "How many times do I have to instruct you to pick up your clothes?" Or try providing information rather than commands: Instead of saying, "Hang up your towel!

3. Use a term to say it.

Regarding her six-year-old daughter Frances, Victoria Stacey remarked, "The more I explain, the more zoned out she gets." The phrase "Frances, your plate," as opposed to day and spent three hours making dinner and now I have to tidy up the entire kitchen and I am only asking you to bring in your dish." It works much better.

4. Compose a letter

A written list—or one with illustrations—may elicit more cooperative responses from certain children than a spoken one. To test if it stops you from nagging him and his procrastinating, give him a checklist that includes the items, "Breakfast, get dressed, make bed, wash teeth."

5. Explain what you intend to do rather than what they must do.

While you may not have any control over your children's behavior, you do have power over your own. "I am heading to the car since it is time to go. It works better to say, "See you there," than to constantly remind them from the doorway what they ought to be doing.

6. Show compassion and affirm

For instance, "I wish we did not have to go to school today, either." Is not playing games at home enjoyable? Even if a youngster must eventually go to school, show him that you care about his sentiments and are paying attention.

7. Pay attention to the timing

Asking your child to set the table at the end of her TV show will be more successful than asking her in the middle, and it also demonstrates respect for something that is significant to her.