Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

How Children Communicate

In this activity, you will:

 Discuss how children communicate; and methods to get them to express themselves

Facilitator’s notes:

In this activity, you will be exploring how children communicate both verbally (through words) and

non-verbally (through body language and social behaviour). You will also discuss with participants

ways of communicating about sensitive issues with children.

Communicating with vulnerable children:

Communication is the foundation of the relationship between a counsellor and a child. For this reason,

practical ways must be found to communicate: ways that are effective not only for you, the caregiver,

but more importantly, for the child.

When communicating with children, counsellors should never force them to tell their ‘story’. If a

child has difficulty communicating about something, there will be good reasons why this is the case.

Children may hesitate to discuss their problems for a variety of reasons, such as:

 Children may feel embarrassed or ashamed talking about issues related to sex, HIV/AIDS,

and death because these are perceived culturally as taboo subjects.

 Children may be too young to put their feelings or experiences into words.

 Some cultures forbid children to question or disagree with adults.

 Children fear hurting those they love. They might hide their feelings in order to protect their

parents or teachers, and adults in general, particularly if these adults are unhappy.

It is the CCC members’ and the home visitors’ role to help children overcome these barriers and help

them express their feelings freely. As a starting point, always try to meet the children on their level.

This involves using creative and non-threatening methods to explore sensitive issues. Depending on

the age of the child, verbal communication may not be a child’s first choice to express himself or

herself. To communicate with children you must be able to understand theirways of communicating.

Children use the following means to communicate:

 Body language

 The language of play

 Spoken / verbal language

 Silence – this could mean that the child feels too

overwhelmed to communicate their experience.

Adults dealing with children should also be aware of their own body

language and what it might be conveying to the child, because

children are always watching what you do, as well as responding

to what you say.

In Appendix 2 on page 351,

there are notes on some

fun and non-threatening

activities that you can use

to help children express

their feelings indirectly.

These are: drawing, storytelling,

drama and playing games.

!!

note

Activity 2

(^176) Unit 2, Module 2 Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children