Humans are social animals. Many aspects of interacting with family, close relatives, and friends tend to be overlooked but these are very important to keep in mind for ensuring a healthy emotional development of the child, who can grow into a self-confident adult.
- Parents need to make effort to help their child find friends.
- The family members need to be inclusive. As it can be difficult for a child with hearing loss to learn a second language, the family members should encourage others to speak in a common language which the child can communicate in, so that the child does not feel isolated.
- Allow the child to speak instead of brushing them off or interrupting them.
- While playing games during family or friend gatherings, include a variety of games, especially games that rely more on visual input than audio (for example: pictionary, puzzles, board games, instead of antakshari). It helps the child to feel included.
- Avoid being overprotective and underestimating. Don’t praise the child for every little thing.
- Expect the child to perform on par with a child of same age but with typical hearing