Helping Your Child Develop Strong Social Skills
Positive and regular social interactions will play a key role in your child’s life, on both a personal level and with regards to their academic performance in school. With that said, it’s important for parents to help their children build strong social skills, while taking into account that children are inherently more socially proficient than adults because they are yet to learn about boundaries. I have teamed up with an independent prep school in Surrey to offer you the following guidance.
Assisting your children with their learning in how to successfully converse with others is not as straightforward as it may seem; it’s all about body language, eye contact and listening as well as speaking. Children learn how to act by watching their parents and other important people in their network, but they also need to learn what would be considered inappropriate. For example, when somebody else is talking they should be aware that it’s rude to interrupt. With regards to playing with other kids, they need to know that they should be considerate, share their toys and take turns. Teasing or bullying of any kind is completely unacceptable. What’s more, they should also know how to react when someone is sad or angry, which moves us onto the next point.
Make it clear to your youngster that particular facial expressions and body language can indicate a specific emotion. If they are crying, they might be sad. If they are scowling, they might be angry. To help them comprehend this concept you could play a game where they have to try and work out what you might be feeling based on an expression. If this just gives you both the giggles, you could use drawings or flash cards instead, or even get a video up on YouTube. Being able to determine how someone else is feeling just by looking at them will help your child figure out how to respond in an appropriate way and sympathise with this person. For example, if someone is crying, laughter is not a suitable reaction. What’s more, if your child understands how certain gestures or expressions help a person show their emotions, they will be better at communicating their own feelings more effectively.
A solitary, reclusive child may find it difficult to socialise and communicate with others. With that in mind, try and surround them with plenty of positive company from an early age (both adults and other children) so that they become used to meeting new people and chatting to others without any awkwardness. Basically, the goal is to try and get them used to normal interactions by encouraging play dates and allowing them to take part in extracurricular activities. Both public and independent schools typically have a range of extra-curricular activities on offer to students to help them with their social skills and other personal progress.
