The Art of Talking with Children: The Simple Keys to Nurturing Kindness, Creativity, and Confidence in Kids

Part memoir, part guidebook, THE ART OF TALKING WITH CHILDREN is an accessible book for parents (and educators) to communicate more effectively and freely with children. You can read through all at once or choose specific chapters that speak to your needs. Peppered with anecdotes and thoroughly grounded in research, Rebecca Rolland expertly relied on her years of experience as a speech pathologist and Harvard educator, as well as being a mother to two children. An educational and entertaining read that you will find yourself returning to through the years!

Rebecca is a gifted writer and has created a resource for all parents, and those present in the lives of young ones. Thank you!

Dr Rolland is incredibly insightful, explains the reasoning behind all of her points with depth, and doesn't shy away from 'difficult' topics.

What I love about Rebecca Rolland's book, The Art of Talking With Children, is the deep respect she shows for even the youngest children as human beings with immense potential. She recognizes communication as an immediate tool for growth and support that we as parents and adults can employ to help them accept themselves as they are: members of a society full of joy and frustration that their brains will respond to in a myriad of confusing ways.Being a parent or teacher can be frustrating. What is obvious to us, what we take for granted, is a blank canvas in the mind of a young child. That is both exciting and terrifying. What I wanted most for my children in the earliest part of life was self-acceptance, both the flaws and the highlights, so that interactions with others were less influential / impactful on their psyches. I wish I had had this book 20 years ago when I was in the thick of it. To understand them, to support them, we ourselves need to be vulnerable and genuine in the way we talk about ourselves so they can do the same. Thanks for a wonderful text on childhood communication.

In the Art of Talking with Children, Rebecca Rolland shows the reader, in a fascinating way, why purposeful conversations with kids are so important--and how we can have more of them. I loved reading about her stories of kids from her work in schools, hospitals, and her own parenting, as well as her analysis of the education system’s flaws.I laughed throughout, since the tone is humorous and positive, and Rebecca constantly uses a fun and accessible tone. But at the same time, I learned so much. Even as a retired teacher, mother of two and grandmother of four, I was amazed to read of so many strategies to use back-and-forth conversations as a powerful tool to help kids grow, stretch and expand. These strategies are ones I plan to use in my own life as a grandparent, and which I plan to tell my friends with kids or grandkids about. I am a big believer in the “Rich Talk” approach, and I wish I had used its principles in my career and in our family. If you have kids in your life, or if you teach them, I highly recommend this book!

While I don't have kids myself, I was surprised by how easily I could translate the information provided to my relationships with my nieces and nephews (ages 3-7). The book provides a toolkit of sorts for how to improve on the quality of the conversations we have with children, and offers, through interviews with clinical experts and parents alike, the rationale behind why these types of conversations are so important to a developing child. The book definitely made me realize that while I often joke and play well with my nieces and nephews, I don't often engage them in deeper discussions or thought games.Truthfully, since I don't have kids of my own, being around kids for too long exhausts me. They talk a lot. About very boring things. But, this book actually provided me with some helpful cues and tips for engaging them in interesting, deep, and fun conversations that don't have to take a ton of time. As the sibling gunning for Favorite Aunt status, these tools will hopefully give me a leg up on my competition.

Everyone who interacts with young kids should read this book! Written by a Harvard speech pathologist, The Art of Talking with Children shows us how to support better communication and skill-building in children by focusing on the quality of our conversations with them. As a clinician, researcher, and mother, Professor Rebecca Rolland shares poignant stories from her parenting and clinical work along with the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, and linguistics. I found the book highly accessible, with valuable tips and memorable takeaways. The book comprises seven essential pillars of skill-building: learning, empathy, confidence, social skills, creativity, openness to others, and temperament. After reading this book and working through some examples, I’m much more confident and knowledgeable about how to communicate with my young nieces and nephews. I discovered ways I can strengthen their capacity for kindness and creativity. Supporting young children is an urgent need in our society – and this is an important book that shows you how to do it! Thank you for writing it!

As a pediatric dentist I was definitely trained and able to understand the need for good communication . I am able to differentiate between the timing and the accurate techniques among the ones I have to help achieve my goal: acquire cooperation and trust from the child to perform the necessary treatment. But I am also a mother of three and in my "private world" my training was not always as applicable because of the emotional factor and fast pace of our everyday life.This is where "The Art of Talking with Children" makes a lot of sense: it helps catching and recognizing those little moments and opportunities to help your child become the best of himself and not just leading them to do what we think is best for them.With simple examples Rebecca Roland gives you hints how to navigate and take advantage of these everyday situations to built curious and compassionate adults thanks to the "right talk at the right moment".

I bought this book after reading a short review online.It was one my best purchased.The author has done a wonderful job in providing parents with simple instructions that are essential.On the other hand she has provided a volumnous annotated bibliography for academicians and researchers.This is very essential for parents especially due to the fact that more number of speech and cognitive disorders are being reported in India now.The perspective provided by this author will help parents in avoiding many issues

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