Listening to children also requires a method.

On September 13th, Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School in Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, organized a workshop for parents titled "The Power of Quality Connection with Your Child." In particular, the speaker guided parents on practicing the method of listening to their children.

The school board of Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School, Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, and parents attending the workshop - Photo: MT

"Children today tend to share less with their parents. For example, when a child comes home from school and the mother asks, 'Did anything fun happen at school today?', the child reacts irritably: 'Nothing happened, why do you keep asking?' This response reveals a breakdown in the connection between parents and children," - Dao Thi Ngoc Mai, a psychology PhD student at RMIT University (Australia), points out the issue.

According to Ms. Mai: "In many modern families, everyone has a mobile phone, constantly connecting in the virtual world but losing the real-life connection with loved ones right next to them."

Speaker Dao Thi Ngoc Mai presents at the seminar "The Power of Quality Connections with Children" - Photo: MT

After presenting the theory, speaker Dao Thi Ngoc Mai had the parents practice on the spot. Two parents sitting next to each other formed pairs: one spoke to the other and vice versa. Importantly, the listeners were not allowed to interrupt, judge, or make assumptions… but had to listen attentively until the end of the story.

After the session, the parents expressed that they felt respected and therefore shared their feelings openly, even though they had never met before.

Parents practice the listening method - Photo: MT

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, a parent of a student in class 10TH2, said: "When I listened, I felt the empathy of the parent sitting next to me. I'm sure after today, he and I will be friends."

Speaker Dao Thi Ngoc Mai concluded: To ensure quality connection with children, parents should ask open-ended questions and vary their questioning style frequently to avoid boredom.

The best way to fully listen to children is to avoid interrupting them, refrain from rushing to judgment, and keep up with their language development.

In addition, parents need to proactively create "connecting spaces" every day – perhaps just 30 minutes on the way to school, during meals, or a few minutes before bedtime.

"These small habits will help maintain a strong bond between parents and children. A quality connection will help parents recognize their child's development, understand their emotions, and thus know how to accompany and reconcile the needs of both generations," Ms. Mai affirmed.

Providing mental health care for students.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Hong Thuy, Principal of Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School, the above topic is one of three topics that the school will dedicate to parents in the 2025-2026 school year.

"With the goal of caring for the mental health of students and teachers, this school year we will organize 12 workshops for teachers and 3 workshops for students. However, that is not enough. Wishing for close and coordinated cooperation between the school and families in the process of educating students, we will organize workshops specifically for parents."

The two upcoming workshops will be: "Accompanying your child through the difficult stages of life" and "Overcoming burnout in the journey of parenthood" - Ms. Hong Thuy said.

HOANG HUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lang-nghe-con-tre-cung-can-phai-co-phuong-phap-2025091318530695.htm