- Use peaceful tones. It’s a fact that shouting often leads to more shouting. Ask your child to speak in a normal tone to show respect for the person he’s talking to — and for everyone around him. If he starts yelling, speak to him in a whisper. He’ll likely lower his voice to match your volume. Or if he shouts from another room, wait until he comes to you so he learns that you don’t respond to yelling.
- Avoid making assumptions. Your youngster can respect others’ feelings by giving them the benefit of the doubt. For example, encourage him to rephrase an accusation like “Who took my water bottle?” Instead he could ask, “Has anyone seen my water bottle?” That’s more respectful because it won’t make anyone feel accused or defensive.
- Accept different opinions. With your child, role-play ways to respect opinions that are different from his own. He might start a sentence with “That’s one way to look at it, but I think…” or “A lot of people would agree with you. In my opinion… ” If a conversation is getting heated, he could simply say, “Let’s agree to disagree and talk about some-thing else.”
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