For children to develop, teach them social skills, because they are important for them. These skills can help them with personal relationships and a professional career later in life.
Below are ways to help your children develop social skills:
Explain personal space
One of the basics of social skills involves personal space. Young children may fail to understand everyone has a personal space bubble that should be respected.
- Explain to kids that personal space varies from person to person, and from culture to culture. People they are closer to, like relatives and siblings, may be more open to hugging and touching than strangers. Likewise, people from other cultures may prefer more or less personal space.
Teach empathy
Empathy is another important basic of social skills. A young child’s perspective is limited. Young people may struggle to understand how to put themselves in another person’s shoes. Try to make an effort to help kids understand empathy.
- Encourage kids to use their imagination. Have them picture themselves in a variety of different scenarios. Look for learning opportunities throughout the day. For example, if your child tells you he or she saw someone getting picked on in school, encourage your child to imagine how they would feel in a similar scenario.
- When watching TV or movies, ask your kids how they think a character is feeling and why. Encourage them to imagine themselves in a similar scenario and think about how they would feel.
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Help them understand how to have a conversation
Basic conversation skills are vital to social development. Young children are often unsure of how to converse, and may be prone to interrupting conversations or ignoring what’s being said. Talk to them about basic conversation skills.
- Explain to children they should take their turns speaking in conversation. Tell them it’s important to wait until someone else finishes talking before interjecting. Also, teach kids about listening. Explain that, in a conversation, you should respond to what the other person is saying rather than simply talking about yourself.
- Teach your kids how to be assertive when they talk to people as well. Explain to your child that being assertive is not the same as being aggressive. It means asking for what you want in a direct, honest way. People who communicate in an assertive way do not use threats, insults, or excuses to get what they want.
Teach about basic manners
Children often do not know basic manners, so these are important to teach as well. Explain to kids it’s very important to say please, thank you, excuse me, and other forms of common courtesy. Make a rule in your home about remembering these words. This will show children how to convey positive manners.
Talk about expressing wants and needs
Kids may often accidentally say insulting things when trying to express wants and needs. For example, your daughter may tell her older brother he’s mean if he doesn’t give her a turn during a game. What she’s trying to communicate is that she dislikes feeling left out. Teach children how to appropriately tell others what they want and need.
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