1、 Listen and answer questions! 倾听并回答问题！孩子对世界充满好奇，他们永远都有十万个为什么。洋哥洋姐要学会倾听他们的问题，确认问烙疋艘烯题，并且友好地回答问题，帮助孩子建立信心，不断学习知识。Children will naturally come up with questions while learning something new. Take time to listen to their questions and try to formulate the best answer you can think of that directly answers their question. Sometimes you might have to ask if you understand their question correctly. You can find out by rephrasing it and saying, “Is that what you’re asking?” After you answer, you can ask, “Did that answer your question?”· If your host kid asks questions at home at times that aren’t good for you, be sure to explain to them that it’s not a good time and why. This also goes for any time your host kid talks to you. Children don’t always understand that sometimes when you’re in the middle of cooking a complicated dinner it’s not a good time to discuss what happened to them that day.· Be sure to say, “I really want to hear about that (or talk about that), but right now isn’t a good time. Can we talk during dinner (or at another specified time)?
2、 Speak kindly! 说话礼貌！孩子天生是模仿家，洋哥洋姐的一言一行都会影响着孩子的成长。所以，礼貌地沟通和表达是给孩子上的重要一课，注意礼仪，注意语音语调，注意言传身教。It’s important to talk to children, and to other adults while you’re around children, the way you would like for them to talk. Children learn best by imitating. If you want your host kids to be polite, be sure to use manners, and pay attention to the tone of your voice. · Be sure to say “please,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” and “I’m sorry” appropriately while interacting with your host kid.· Listen to the tone of your voice through the child’s ears. Children often pay more attention to tone than they do to what you’re actually saying. Have you ever had a child say to you, “Why are you yelling at me?” when you weren’t actually yelling? This is most likely because your tone sounded angry, frustrated, or unhappy in some way, possibly without you even realizing it.
3、 Take the children’s emotions seriously! 关注孩子的情绪！孩子往往有强烈的情感，关注着往往被大人们忽视了的事情。所以，洋哥洋姐需要注意关注孩子的情绪，正确引导，帮助建立良好的情绪管控能力。 Children have very strong emotions, and sometimes they are about things that don’t appear important to adults. It’s important to not downplay how a child feels about a certain event or situation. Help children to make sense of their emotions in a helpful way. You can start by saying, “I understand this is upsetting to you. Let’s talk about why you’re upset.” You can then try to calm them down by talking about ways that they can cope with feeling upset, or explaining other points of view that they may not have thought of.
4、 Have patience! 有耐心！和孩子相处所需的重要品质之一就是耐心。孩子的天真和有时候的无意冒犯，是需要洋哥洋姐的耐心理解的，毕竟，孩子是孩子，而洋哥洋姐需要做的，就是有耐心，照顾好孩子，也照顾好自己。Patience is an extremely important quality to have while working with children. It can be a challenge, but the best thing to do is remember when “kids are being kids.” They are usually not intentionally trying to irritate you. Unless they are… and in those cases sometimes you just have to ignore them. When you spend lots of time with kids in any capacity, it’s important to take care of yourself too. Get enough sleep, drink enough water, exercise and eat a healthy diet, and make sure that your host family allows you some time of your own so you can gather your thoughts.
5、Last but not least, every child is different, and it’s impossible to know what ways of interaction will work best with your host kid. If the children doesn’t trust you at first, doesn’t listen to you at all, or if you feel like you cannot get through to them, don’t give up! It takes time, for the both of you, to adapt to a completely new person in the household, and everything will get clearer in time as you get to know each other and feel more at ease with the family. And remember, at Love Pair, we’re always here for you if you need some tips or guidance.
