When working with youth, youth workers often feel a lack of communication with them. But why is this the case? And who is to blame - the youth worker or the young person? How can youth workers effectively communicate with youth in a way that makes them feel their efforts are not in vain? When communicating with youth, communication styles and behavior should be age-appropriate (Gable, 2003). When establishing effective communication with youth, it is essential that youth workers use language that youth understand so they can grasp the message that youth workers intend to convey. Promotive parenting includes strategies that support young people's abilities and interests. Indicators of promotive parenting are, maternal behavioral control, parent-child trusting relationships and communication (Williams-Wheeler, 2011).

Extension specialist Sara Gable (2003) offers advice about this. Gable suggests that when speaking with young person, the most effective approach for communicating is an investigative approach to help them to recall information. Gable suggests questioning young persons about past events that might help them to develop images that relate to the conversation. During the time of questioning, the youth worker should listen carefully to the young person's responses and offer descriptive words to enhance their descriptions. This approach encourages youth to talk about both positive and negative feelings.

Gable suggests that youth between the ages of six to twelve year can process more pieces of information at a given time. When communicating with this age group, the conversation should focus on ideas that can help the youth manage peer pressure and learn how to manage conflict. Peer relationships are very important at this age. When disciplining the six to twelve-year-old youth, youth workers should provide calm explanations about the rules and guidelines to help the youth develop awareness about their behavior. As an example, a teacher might provide an explanation such as “Josh if you don’t keep your feet on the floor, then you will have to sit on the bench during recess.” The purpose of providing explanations is to inform the child about the consequences for the undesirable behavior.

Gable suggests that adolescents between the ages of 12 to 18 are more independent and less engaged with youth workers. Adolescents at this age tend to focus on their relationships with others outside the family. They are inquisitive about who they are becoming and what others think about them. This is a time in their life when issues such as self-esteem, confidence, and acceptance begin to flow through their minds. Studies have shown that more immediate and frequent communication within close relationships at this age results in decreased feelings of loneliness (Gentzler, Oberhauser, Westerman, & Nadorff, 2011). With this age group, sensitivity and responsiveness to youth needs are necessary. Although these youth desire independence, they still benefit from consistent youth workers' support (Gable, 2003). It is very important when working with adolescents at this age to be open-minded and willing to understand as much as possible. If the adolescents’ ideas don’t result in harm to themselves or others, then youth workers should be open-minded about them.

Communication barriers can result in negative dialogue between youth workers and young people. Just as there are ways to encourage positive communication between parents and children, there are also techniques that detract from positive communication. Goh (2007) suggests that the following approaches should be avoided when communicating with youth.

• Ordering - Telling the youth what she or he should do. For example, "Stop complaining that your teacher gave you a failing grade. Go into school tomorrow and talk to her about it."
• Threatening - Telling the youth to do something, "or else . . ." - suggesting there's only one acceptable course of action. For example, "If you don't take your studies more seriously, we're not going to go out and have fun anymore."
• Preaching - Telling the youth how to act or behave - usually has a moralistic, 'this is the right thing to do' tone. For example, "You shouldn't talk about other people like that."
• Avoiding - Trying to avoid problems or uncomfortable situations in the hope that they may go away on their own. For example, "Oh, let's not talk about that. It's so depressing! Let's try to find something happy to think about."
• Pacifying - Trying to make the youth feel better without really addressing the problem. For example: if the youth says, "I feel bad because I was really mean to my little sister!" You reply, "Oh, don't worry about it, I did the same thing many times." Even though you may be sincere, you haven't helped the youth resolve the issue.
•  Lecturing – Offering the youth unsolicited advise. For example, "If you want to get ahead in life you must really go to college. You should really work harder in school so that you can get into college."

Youth workers who communicate with youth using the approaches above may not understand the negative effects that can result with a tendency to lead to barriers in communication. It is important for adults to recognize and acknowledge factors that they may contribute to the problem in order to resolve the issue. This approach offers potential for better communication with agreeable resolutions between the adult and the youth. Studies show that children who perceive open and satisfying communication processes within the family are less likely to engage in risky health behaviors (Williams- Wheeler 2011). 

Communication is key. Without effective communication, it is difficult for youth workers and their peers to maintain a positive relationship. In order to establish a more successful interaction with their peers, youth workers should develop strategies that include recognizing and trying to understand their peers’ point of view. Likewise, the youth should show respect for their efforts. 

In order to communicate effectively with young people, social and youth workers need to be confident and have a range of skills. These include:

• active listening
• empathising with the child’s point of view
• developing trusting relationships
• understanding non-verbal communication
• building rapport
• explaining, summarising and providing information
• giving feedback in a clear way
• understanding and explaining the boundaries of confidentiality (Dalzell and Chamberlain, 2006).

Practitioners need to work at the child’s pace and tailor their communication style to the best way of communicating with individual children and young people. This requires time, patience, space and resources (Luckock et al, 2006). There are a number of core skills that enhance communication between children and their social worker and these can be categorised under four domains:

• Doing: using a variety of tools, interviewing techniques, listening and creative techniques, going at the child’s pace, using child-centred communication
• Being (personal qualities): engaging and building relationships, building trust and safety, being caring, empathic, honest, sincere and warm
• Being (ethical commitment): eliciting children’s views, providing information, maintaining confidentiality (where possible), providing uninterrupted time, being reliable, respectful and non-judgemental
• Knowing and understanding: having knowledge and understanding of how the social work role affects communication and how experiences affect communication and child development. (Lefevre, 2013)

Practitioners need to devise ways to support and encourage children to express their views, using methods such as play, games, activity-based work and the use of creative arts. These can enable children to feel more comfortable and to express and process their feelings. Activity-based work, playing games and having fun together can also enhance the relationship between child and social worker.

For young children, activities such as games, writing and drawing help to make the process more child-friendly (Thomas, 2009). To encourage young children to talk it is useful to have a bag containing a few toys, coloured pencils, paper, flash cards and worksheets with happy and sad faces (Thomas, 2009; Dalzell and Chamberlain, 2006). These methods may also be helpful when communicating with a child with a learning disability (Stone, 2001; Stalker and Connors, 2003).

Older children can be reluctant to share thoughts and feelings because of they fear these private things will be written down in their file and shared with strangers (Luckock et al, 2006). A range of methods can be used to promote communication with older children, including camcorders, cameras, diaries and scrapbooks (Holland et al, 2010). Some young people find it easier to communicate while on the move – when walking together, for example, or travelling by car. Others use photographs and videos to give insight into their lives.

Support from managers is also needed to facilitate good communication with children and young people. Managers need to:

• believe that children are competent and can contribute effectively to assessment, decision making and planning
• have realistic expectations of the time it takes to communicate effectively with children
• prioritise communication with children
• understand the importance of developing trust and a strong working relationship
• be aware of the importance of providing services such as interpreters and advocates (Dalzell and Chamberlain, 2006).

References

Goh, J. (2007). How To Talk With Youth. Retrieved November 12, 2012,

Gable, S. (2003). GH6123 Communicating Effectively with Children. Retrieved November 11, 2012,

Gentzler, A. L., Oberhauser, A. M., Westerman, D., & Nadorff, D. K. (2011). College students’ use of electronic communication with parents: Links to loneliness, attachment, and relationship quality. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(1-2), 71-74.

Williams-Wheeler M. (2011). Promotive parenting practices among African-American mothers. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 103(4), 16-21.