Listening as a way of life - NCB publications

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The Listening as a way of life is one the the NCB's resource publications to help settings support their parents and children.

Quote:
Listening as a way of Life
FIRST SERIES(6)
Supporting parents and carers to listen: A guide for practitioners
Julie McLarnon

Why we encourage parents to listen to very young children

As adults, if we feel that we have been listened to and what we have expressed has been acknowledged, we are more likely to feel valued and loved. It is the same for young children.

The benefits of being listened to as a child are well documented. What children learn about themselves from the adults closest to them depends on the quality of their experience with us and this in turn affects how their self-esteem and sense of identity develops (Leach 1994).

Through being listened to children:
● learn many essential skills such as listening, debating, negotiating and
compromise

● reflect (on what they have heard or observed), taking account of a variety of points of view and considering them objectively

● develop a deeper sense of the needs of others; an increased sense of
ownership and responsibility for where they live, play and learn (Miller
1997)

● but most importantly: they learn whether or not they have a voice that other people think is worth listening to.

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More in this series of government funded leaflets (2008) are

Why and how we listen to young children

Listening to babies

Are equalities an issue? Finding out what young children think

Listening to young disabled children

Listening to young children’s views on foood

These resources are also available in the Learning Exchange library