Getting close to your child
It makes sense that the further you are away from a child the less influence you will have on him or her. It may be common sense but unfortunately it is an approach that is commonly neglected by many parents when trying to get their child to listen and act.
You may be familiar with the 'Yelling from one end of the house to the other' approach... which is great for the child as they are usually in their favourite place far away from their parent, lying low, ignoring the call and keeping their fingers crossed that they will be saved yet again from that horrible task of feeding the dog or the like! In this instance the dispirited parent often gets upset and is resigned to the fact that their child 'never listens'; 'never obeys'; and worse still 'is extremely lazy'!
One of the most simple yet amazingly effective techniques to use is to merely...
Get as close to your child as possible when you want them to listen as well as act!
Other add-on strategies, only if needed however, include...
saying his or her name
getting eye contact with your young one
gently holding his or her hand
You will automatically feel more confident and infinitely more in charge. You will be more able to see whether your child is paying attention (or not); and most importantly, there will be a much greater chance that your child will comply with your instruction.
So in future, make life easy for yourself and get up close!
