撰文：GLP 全力愛創辦人兼義務總幹事 林何佩儀
孩子在 6 個多月大的時候牙牙學語，不停地發出聲音和單字，還喜歡玩有聲音的玩具。但他們在未學會說話前，其實已懂得用啼哭、聲音、面部表情、手勢或身體語言來與身邊的人溝通。事實上，幼兒是先學習以表情和手勢與人溝通，接著學習口語溝通，最後便學習以文字溝通。因此，準確認知他人的表情，有助於判斷他人的情緒和態度，從而影響孩子的認知能力發展、情緒及社交能力的發展。而父母的面部表情、動作和姿勢，往往都是最吸引孩子的。
孩子會對父母的表情和情緒，作出觀察和反應。例如溫柔的表情可使他們放心與你溝通、微笑能加強孩子表達的信心、當父母點頭示意則表示接納。透過這些發展，使幼兒逐漸了解、學會和關心人的情感。而表達情緒的身體部位各有不同，可以把表情分為面部表情、身段表情和語言表情三種。
要建立良好的親子溝通，家長有幾方面需要注意：
1. 當孩子還未能清楚看到父母的表情，建議可多用行動替代說話來回應，例如抱緊他、親親他、撥動他的頭髮，或者輕輕撫摸他的臉蛋，這些都是說話以外的另一種是語言溝通的重要方式。
Written: Founder & Volunteer Director of Good Love Passion, Lam Ho Pui Yee
When a child is around 6 months old, they start babbling, constantly making sounds and single words. They also enjoy playing with toys that make sounds. However, even before they learn to speak, they already understand how to communicate with the people around them using crying, sounds, facial expressions, gestures, or body language. In fact, children first learn to communicate with people using facial expressions and gestures, then they learn verbal communication, and finally, they learn to communicate through text. Therefore, accurately recognizing other people’s facial expressions helps in assessing their emotions and attitudes, thus influencing a child’s cognitive development, emotional development, and social skills. Parents’ facial expressions, actions, and postures are often what children find most attractive.
Children observe and respond to their parents’ facial expressions and emotions. For example, a gentle expression can make them feel comfortable communicating with you, a smile can boost a child’s confidence in expressing themselves, and a nod from parents indicates acceptance. Through these developments, children gradually understand, learn, and care about people’s emotions. Different parts of the body express emotions in various ways, and expressions can be categorized into facial expressions, body expressions, and verbal expressions.
To establish good parent-child communication, parents need to pay attention to several aspects:
1．When children cannot clearly see their parents’ facial expressions, it is recommended to use actions as a substitute for speech responses. For example, hugging them tightly, giving them a kiss, gently stroking their hair, or gently touching their cheeks are all important non-verbal communication methods.
2. 父母若能落實在生活中，扮演一個有童心和多表情的父母，這樣孩子就能從父母的面部表情上，學會豐富的情感和表達技巧，將來必定一生受用不盡。
3. 不少親子相處型態是「不互動」— 雖然在一起，但沒有眼神接觸、對話、交換訊息或動作，更沒有分享情緒，因為大家都在看電視、電腦和手機，或各做各的事情。眼神接觸可訓練專注力，所以常用關心的眼神注視對方，聆聽對方分享，是良好的溝通條件之一。
2. If parents can embody a childlike and expressive role in their daily lives, children can learn a wealth of emotions and expressive skills from their parents’ facial expressions. This will undoubtedly benefit them throughout their lives.
3. Many parent-child interaction patterns involve “non-interaction” – even though they are together, there is no eye contact, conversation, message exchange, or actions, and there is no emotional sharing because everyone is watching TV, using the computer and phones, or doing their own things. Eye contact can train focus, so regularly gazing at each other with caring eyes and listening to each other’s sharing is one of the conditions for good communication.
4. 營造清靜簡單的環境，有助孩子集中精神，當他們清楚看到你的表情，才算得上是真正的全面溝通。所以，當溝通時適宜關掉發聲的物品，包括電視機、平板電腦，或拿走他心愛的玩具。
父母在孩子成長的路途上，願意給予無條件的愛和充足的溝通空間，讓孩子覺得被接受時，他們方能破繭而出。孩子都喜歡父母欣賞自己，所以鼓勵的效果往往比較大，無論眼神還是說話，都可以多用。
4. Creating a quiet and simple environment helps children concentrate. True and comprehensive communication happens when they can clearly see your facial expressions. Therefore, it’s appropriate to turn off sound-producing items like the TV, tablet, or take away their beloved toys during communication.
On the journey of a child’s growth, parents who are willing to provide unconditional love and ample communication space make children feel accepted, allowing them to break free from their cocoon. Children love it when their parents appreciate them, so encouragement often has a greater impact, whether through eye contact or speech; both can be used more frequently.
