Observing Communication

I did my observation while I was in Wal-Mart.  I noticed that parents with small children that range in age from new born to around 2 years old looked at the child and interacted with the child when they were communicating.  There was constant contact with the child, which appears to have made the child feel valued and heard. The child would smile and respond back because the parent was making direct contact with the child.

I also noticed that with the children that were around three-four the parent would talk to the child while doing other things; they did not give the child the proper attention needed and those children cried more than the smaller children.  I believe that this is because the parent seemed to have been more focused on shopping and talking to the other adult.

I also ran into a young lady that I have known for some time now, but had not had the opportunity to meet her little girl.  So, I walked over to her cart and I looked at the child and smiled and asked, “what is your name?”  She looked at me and said, “Kenzie”.  As I talked to McKenzie she would look at me and smile and answer me gently.  After a few words, I gently touch her arm and she smiled as I told her what a pretty little girl she was, and her mother responded she is smiling because she knows when someone say she is pretty.  I could observe that her mother used direct eye contact and touching when she communicated with two-year-old McKenzie by the way she communicated with her in the store. 

I have learned that children are aware of when they are being properly communicated with.  Your actions help in influencing their reactions.  As I stated, the children who received less interaction with their parents were the ones crying for attention.  I have also learned that children do not like to be ignored and it is important in developing their self-esteem to know that they are worth your time, which in turn strengthens their self-worth.