Parents' Corner Wednesdays: Communication Tip - Look Beneath The Surface of a Behavior and Discuss Matters of the Heart

Parents' Corner Wednesdays

Communication Tip: Look beneath the surface of a behavior and discuss matters of the heart.

How fitting, right? Beneath The Surface Therapy Solutions motto is the very first blog post! Its because this isn't a cool catch phrase or a slogan to toss around for marketing purposes. No, this is a way of practice, an approach to therapy that defines the way Beneath The Surface Therapy Solutions respond to each client. 

In this blog post, I'm encouraging parents to look beneath the surface of a behavior and discuss matters of the heart. 

Keep in mind that a child may express his/ her emotions differently based on their developmental stage. Therefore, its really important to look beneath the surface of a behavior.

Example: Your child comes home and says he/she hates school.

In cases of your child liking school one minute and then hating school the next, know that its important to get to the root of why his/her viewpoint on school changed. 

Is your child having difficulties with a particular subject? Is your child having difficulties relating to the other kids in the classroom? Is your child being bullied? Does your child need accommodations?

As parents, its important that we are truly observant. Its so easy to get caught up in our day to day lives that we tend to take things at face value. This isn't a bad thing if things are going well. However, if things aren't going well, then this will more than likely cause problems and create distance in the parent-child relationship. This is mostly due to the fact that children find security in knowing that their parents are there for them. 

If we are quick to respond to a behavior issue with a reaction without getting to the root of the issue, the child may feel as if he/she is all alone in the matter.

Remember, everything at face value may not be a true representation of what's actually going on.

Ask those tough questions and be willing to listen even when you're apprehensive about what might be said. It is during these times, you gain a more accurate understanding concerning the help and resources that are needed.