Communicating with Children

2330 Words10 Pages
Critically discuss the range of factors that affect communication with children. How can practitioners become better at communicating with the children they work with? “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” (Anthony Robbins, 1986) The following essay will begin with a discussion of two major factors that affect communicating with children. I will view these from a critical perspective, arguing why these factors are important discussing issues that may affect communicating with disabled children and how the setting plays a vital role in aiding communication. The next part of the essay will look at how practitioners in schools and in the field of social work can improve their communicative relationships with the children they work with. When communicating with children there various ways in which to do so, such as, verbally, non-verbally - through body language, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact. It is important to remember that when adults are not directly addressing the child and are communicating with a different child or adult in the same setting, other children will be absorbing the information sent out and will be learning and developing there own understanding of how to communicate appropriately with others. (The Open University, 2008) To allow communication to take place with a child who has a disability the key worker needs to be fully aware of the child’s needs, in order to know how best to communicate with them. At my place of work we are often signed up to one to one work with children we have not worked closely with before. In order to give the child the best level of care we are required to read their folders and talk to other members of staff who are more familiar with their

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