Nursery World - Mind your language (2)

Adults have a bad habit of speaking about children as if they can't hear. Psychologist Jenie Lindon explains how to teach respect by showing respect As an early years practitioner you will be alert to young children's language and how they communicate. It can be exciting to listen and watch as young children in your care learn how to communicate and find pleasure in saying what they want to express. As well as supporting that development, you will sometimes guide children about the social 'rules' of communication, such as how they should talk to people directly or be courteous in how they talk about somebody else. But what about how we ourselves use words and how we communicate within children's hearing?

As an early years practitioner you will be alert to young children's language and how they communicate. It can be exciting to listen and watch as young children in your care learn how to communicate and find pleasure in saying what they want to express. As well as supporting that development, you will sometimes guide children about the social 'rules' of communication, such as how they should talk to people directly or be courteous in how they talk about somebody else. But what about how we ourselves use words and how we communicate within children's hearing?

We need to be aware of our own adult habits of communication, whether we are speaking directly to children or talking about them where they can hear. What we say and how we say it really matters, because it gives strong messages to children about how we feel about them. These messages can be friendly or unfriendly, respectful or discourteous. They can set either a good or a poor example to the children about how they themselves can communicate.

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