A few days ago I commented in a blog post by Spiral Consulting for Children, where I work on interpersonal communication issues for families and professionals who work with children, and adolescents, that sometimes a workshop to improve communication in the family or in the classroom serves to arouse interest, and aside from the insights gained and the tools learned, many people ask for more material to lean on. I like to recommend book Adele Faber y Elaine Mazlish (trainers and mothers) with the suggestive title How to talk so your kids will listen and listen so your kids will talk, a classic of communication with boys and girls that appeared in 1980. For years it has become a benchmark of positive parenting: empathetic and validating listening while setting limits and reaching satisfactory agreements for all parties involved.

Inspired by the workshops that both authors carried out, The book is structured around the following contents: Chapter 1. How to help children deal with their feelings. Chapter 2. How to foster collaboration. Chapter 3. Alternatives to punishment. Chapter 4. How to stimulate autonomy. Chapter 5. the praise. Chapter 6. How to escape typecasting. Chapter 7. Recapitulemos. Further, in the latest edition of 2013 of Editorial Medici includes a look back from the authors to learning and experiences over more than thirty years and a touching afterword by Joanna Faber, with her experience as the daughter of the author Adele Faber and her encounter with her own motherhood.

From a positive view of the human being and human relations, the text is based on basic reasoning and many examples, some illustrated with vignettes that are like life itself, and continually offers ideas to be put into practice with the boys and girls around us. Although it is initially geared towards families, It can also be used in the educational and social field (although the authors have other specific books for the subject of studies).

And if your sons and daughters (or the students you work with) they are older, you can also look at the book by the same authors How to talk so teens will listen and how to listen so teens will talk to you, offering some different ideas (appropriate for when they are older) and suggestions always useful, that will probably make you smile.

I wish you a happy reading, and that you enjoy exploring new forms of communication.

Xavier