Communicating with Your Child

Good communication between you and your child is important for developing a positive relationship and will make it easier for you to talk about difficult topics as they get older. One of the most challenging tasks to learn is how to respond to behavior. Learn more about using praise, engaging in play, and participating in active listening to build strong communication with your child.

Responding to Behavior

Discover more about positive and negative attention and how to use praise, imitation, and description

Active Listening

Find out more about active listening and how to use reflection

Quick Tips

Check out these tips for communicating with your child

Special Playtime

Learn how special playtime can improve your communication with your child

Answers from Experts

See answers to common parenting questions about communicating with your child

Practice Your Skills

Check out Quick Tips and Answers from Experts for more info about responding to your child’s behavior! Click through the links below to watch videos and practice your skills for communicating with your child.

Watch Videos

Play Time: Communicating with Your Child

A father lets stress from work interfere with his play time with his daughter. Watch as he learns how to get his daughter interested in play time again.

Learn about Communicating with Your Child

Discover ways to use positive communication, such as praise, imitation, description, and active listening, to interact with your child. Also available in Spanish

Practice Skills

Communicating with Your Child: What Would You Say" Activity

Watch this video to find chances to strengthen your communication with your child in everyday situations

Page last reviewed: November 5, 2019

Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention