How Little Girls Communicate

Whining

• When you hear that ultra high-pitched whine, "But mommy, I really, really, really want the cookie," you most likely know that it's your daughter's way of communicating her needs to you. While this type of communication is certainly not of the positive variety, it is one way that little girls try to get a parent's attention, get what they want and express a desire. Instead of caving into your child's whining, the experts at the Ask Dr. Sears website suggest that parents stop the behavior before it gets out of hand. Tell your daughter that you won't listen to a whining type of voice, and wait to communicate further until she changes her tone.

Gossip

• While little girls don't have an exclusive market on gossiping, they do tend to engage in this type of communication more often than young boys do. Unlike simply talking, gossip includes -- according to the pediatric pros at the KidsHealth website -- telling other kids questionably true, mean or private thoughts. Before your daughter gets a rep as the local school "gossip girl," help her to understand why this type of communication is often hurtful and tell her to keep away from or avoid listening to other kids that start rumors. Additionally, don't forget that your child is watching you for cues on how she should act. Instead of engaging in playground gossip about how, "Sarah's mommy got so fat," act as a role model and avoid gossiping too.

Emotions

• Depending on your child's age, she may have a more or less challenging time communicating her emotions in a socially acceptable way. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics -- on their Healthy Children website -- notes that younger kids, such as toddlers, often lack the self-control to express their feelings in a positive manner. Your little girl may feel frustrated, sad or angry, but -- because of her young age -- bite, hit, kick or scream instead of simply communicating with words. While this is perfectly normal for a young child, you shouldn't tolerate this type of behavior. When your little one acts aggressively or throws a tantrum instead of communicating how she feels in a calm way, let her know that this isn't acceptable and try a discipline technique such as timeouts.

Secrets

• Like gossip, secrets are a way that little girls communicate with friends in a social way. Very little girls, such as preschoolers or kindergartners, may tell fairly innocent secrets to their friends such as a whisper on the day care playground that, "Bobby is cute." As your child moves into the elementary school years she may begin to truly share her intimate thoughts with other girls through secret telling. As long as secrets aren't harmful, such as untrue gossip about another person, they can help your daughter establish an emotional bond with her friends and set the stage for building trust with others.

Screaming and Squealing

• Although it's not appropriate for your young daughter to let lose and scream at school, a family dinner or while shoe shopping at the mall, sometimes a gleeful outburst of emotion is acceptable. From the old black and white film clips of preteen and teen girls screaming as the Beatles walked by to more modern TV and Internet shots of little girls squealing at the sight of boy bands such as One Direction, this type of emotional communication is common and typically completely harmless. It's likely that, while your daughter screams at the top of her lungs as Justin Bieber walks out on stage, she knows that this same behavior is not allowed in other environments such as school or even at home.