Tips for improving parent-child communication 改善亲子沟通技巧 (1): Start early. From the time your child learns to talk, make yourself available to listen. 尽早开始。当您的孩子开始学说话时，花时间去倾听。

Imagine you have a water barrel, the floor underneath the barrel is wet from leaks. What will you do about it?
想像您有个水桶，水桶地下的地板因水桶的漏洞而湿了。您会怎么做？

The water barrel is a metaphor for the context we are in and the situations we often face. On a personal level, the water barrel could be our character, which may seem good to others on the outside, but which may be in fact riddles with leaky holes. In time, if these holes are not patched up, the water within us – which could stand for our credibility or social capital, will leak away, and what is left is emptiness, what use would that be?
这水桶可代表我们所处的环境，与常面对的事情。在个人领域方面，这水桶或许可以代表着我们的品格，虽完整，但有漏洞。若不赶紧修补，在我们以内的水 – 可代表个人的信用 – 将会渐渐流失，留下内在的空缺。

What if the barrel represents our families? What will the water be? One thought is that the water represents our family relationships. If there is more water, then the members are closer together and that the family is able to walk through difficult times as a unit. And if that relationship leaks out or is polluted by unwanted third party, the family could be

destroyed as a result. So, then what can we do about it?
如果水桶代表着我们的家庭，那桶里的水又能代表着什么呢？或许这水代表着我们的家庭关系。水多则感情好，可团结一致走过艰难日子。若这水往外漏，或被不欢迎的第三者污染，家庭生活也可能被毁了。那我们能做些什么吗？

We will be beginning a series to explore the area of Parent-Child communication and offer tips to empower you to plug the holes in your family and stop the leaks.
让我们先从亲子沟通的领域分享心得，帮助您修补家庭关系中的漏洞。

“You’re not listening to me!” Parents say this all the time to their children. The reverse is true as well – children often tell their parents they’re not listening to them. Good communication between parent and child is essential to building a child’s self esteem and fostering a mutual respect, whether parenting a toddler or a teenager. However, communication does not happen overnight, and it is not a one-time or occasional thing. Communicating with your child has to happen early, and often.
“你根本没听我说的话！”这句话是家长们常常对他们的孩子说的，反向也是如此，孩子们也常常抱怨他们的父母没有听自己说的话。无论是养育幼儿还是青少年，家长和孩子之间良好的沟通对于建立孩子的自尊，以及培育父母和子女之间的相互尊重都是至关重要的。然而，沟通不是一朝一夕的事，更不是一次性或偶然的事。与您的孩子尽早的建立良好的沟通是必要的。

Here is a tip for improving parent-child communication 以下是改善亲子沟通的技巧 (1):

Start early. From the time your child learns to talk, make yourself available to listen. 尽早开始。当您的孩子开始学说话时，花时间去倾听。