{"id":21078,"date":"2026-09-24T16:33:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T16:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachchildrenmeditation.com\/?p=21078"},"modified":"2026-09-24T18:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:34:57","slug":"why-children-dont-listen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachchildrenmeditation.com\/es\/why-children-dont-listen\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Children Don’t Seem to Listen (and What to Say Instead)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Words Aren’t Always Instructions<\/h2>\n

I was walking my dog past our local nursery when a couple of children aged about three came racing round the corner of the building.<\/p>\n

They saw us, got very excited, and each grabbed a handful of gravel and threw it onto the pavement in front of us. They weren’t aiming at us, just thrilled to have an audience.<\/p>\n

This was spotted by the nursery assistant, who called out, “If you throw stones, you’ll hit the dog!”<\/p>\n

Two seconds later, another handful of gravel. You could see the disbelief on her face.<\/p>\n

My dog and I walked on unscathed, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.<\/p>\n

What she meant was, “Don’t throw stones; you might hurt the dog.” What she said was a statement of fact. Her tone was a warning, but the words were only information, and to a three-year-old, information isn’t an instruction.<\/p>\n

It’s easy to be certain we’ve said one thing when we’ve actually said another.<\/strong> I’ve done the same, many times.<\/p>\n

Be clear in what you say (as well as how)<\/h3>\n

Small children take words at face value. They’re still learning how language works, so “Do you want to put your shoes on?” sounds like a genuine question, and “You’ll get wet” sounds like a weather report.<\/p>\n

A few swaps that help:<\/p>\n