Are you tired of the grunts and groans you receive from your tween when you try to talk to her? Do you fear that she will be held back socially and academically because she falters when it comes to talking with her peers as well as to adults? If you answered yes to these questions, then this post is for you!
Being able to communicate effectively in today’s world is of the utmost importance. One must not only be able make casual small talk, but a child also needs to be able to answer questions in the classroom.
As a parent or guardian, you can make a huge difference in the life of a tween by helping to enhance his or her verbal communication skills. Try one or more of the following tips to begin the process of enriching verbal talent in your tween today!
1. Read Out Loud
Encouraging your tween to read out loud to you is one way to increase her verbal confidence. Tweens are self-conscious beings. Almost overnight, everything they do seems awkward to them. To combat your tween’s new found fear of her own voice, ask her to read to you each night for five minutes.
It really doesn’t matter what she chooses to read – although poems and novels will work – as it’s the act of reading aloud that allows her to become used to her own voice!
2. No One Word Answers
If your child has started to struggle with responding to your questions, then insist on the following rule: no one word answers. Of course this rule will need to apply to you as well!
While it may seem silly to insist on a complete sentence from your tween in response to an easy question, it will do wonders for encouraging her to expand her verbal skills.
I used this trick with my own daughter. It worked especially well when I made the rule seem more like a challenging game than a learning tool. For instance, if she came up with a particularly eloquent sentence in response to a simple question, I would sometimes even applaud!
3. Ordering One’s Own Meal
Another tool that will help a tween become more verbal: having her order her own food at a restaurant. Again, this may SEEM trivial, but it is not.
Resist the urge to speak to the waiter or waitress for your child, even if your tween acts shy.  She is almost a teenager now, which means she is perfectly capable of asking for the particular food and drink she wants. Plus, with practice, she will see that ordering her own food is actually fun!
Concluding Thoughts
Enhancing a tween’s verbal communication skills is imperative for his or her ultimate success. If you want more information on how to help your child become a more effective communicator, his or her guidance counselor at school can be a tremendous help. Also, the Internet abounds with information for parents on this subject. Don’t give up. Your child will ultimately thank you for your efforts.