Positive relationships for children’s care, learning and development.
Relationships with children.

Question 1.
Describe how to communicate with children. Give at least 2 examples from placements to illustrate how you communicated with children?
When communicating with children there are lots of things you should do. You should get down to their level so they don’t feel intimidated by you and speak to them in the correct tone of voice for what you are talking about, for example if you are talking about something of interest to them then you should be talking in a friendly and upbeat tone of voice whereas if you are dealing with negative behavior then you should talk to them in a low and serious tone of voice so they know the difference. You should also use eye contact with the children so they know you are listening and use paraphrasing as well.

Question 2.
Describe how practitioners can develop relationships with children. Give at least 2 examples to illustrate how you developed relationships with the children when you were on placement?
Practitioners can develop relationships with children by joining in with what they are playing and talking to them about their interests and favourite things to do. They can also talk to the children about their family (asking if they have any brothers or sisters?) and asking about any pets and what they like to watch on the TV.

Question 3.
Explain why communication skills are important in developing relationships with children in a placement setting?
Communication skills are important in developing relationships with children because the children will feel safe, secure and valued if they know the people around them. This would then have a positive impact on their personal, social and emotional development. This helps the children to have trust in people and value others and their feelings. They would feel good about themselves and have a positive self-image and self-esteem and about their ethnic and social backgrounds. They would have the confidence to explore and experience new things which would have a big benefit on their learning.

Question 4.
Based on your placement date, evaluate your own communication skills in terms of developing relationships with children. You should consider both your strengths as well as your areas for development?
My communication skills with the children are very good and I have built good relationships with the children. When I talk to the children I always get down to their level, speak in a calm and soothing tone of voice, use eye contact and sometimes I paraphrase.

Question 5.
Describe how practitioners support children in developing relationships with each other. Give at least 2