There’s one problem that parents face that seems to be universal – and that’s feeling that our children don’t listen to us. We find ourselves asking our kids to do things time and time again, only to be ignored. It’s not much fun to be nagged at, but it’s even less fun to always be the one doing the nagging.

So, if you feel that you have to resort to yelling to get your kid’s attention, and you’re getting tired of the sound of your own voice, we’ve found this really helpful article, which is essentially a seven step guide of how to help ensure that your kids a more likely to listen to you the first time you speak to them.

We all want our children to listen to us the first time, but in order to do this, we must first look at the way that we communicate to them, and explore some of the reasons why they may be ignoring us in the first place. Here’s a brief summary of how you can open and improve the lines of communication between you and your child.

– Make an effort to communicate clearly using eye contact, or some other form of physical contact. Give them your full and focused attention, and they are more likely to give you theirs in return.

– Ask yourself why they may be ignoring you in the first place – are they just distracted, or have you upset them in any way?

– Always make sure that your child understands the reason behind your request, and ensure they are aware of what the consequences will be if they fail to follow through.

We also provide several effective tools in our book Kids Don’t Come With a Manual to make your children listen the first time, every time!