Communication and development in the environment are skills that are learned at an early age, for this it is important to promote social skills in children. In this way they develop behaviors that define the way they behave with others receptive language.
Why are social skills important in children?
Life develops in coexistence with other people, that is, in a social context. During the first years of life, children’s social skills are stimulated through conversation or when you ask them questions. As they grow, these skills are shown through feelings, for example when expressing love.
After age 3, social skills in children develop by participating in more complete conversations or asking for help. All these actions that are learned, initially, through early stimulation, intervene in the behavior, self-esteem and role of children in society.
Tips to promote, in different environments, social skills in children
At home
It is important that your child learns to communicate correctly at home, to be respectful and to have limits. Follow the following tips:
- Establish rules: how to talk to a family member and how to talk to your teacher. How to behave in a public place and also to differentiate appropriate behavior depending on the space. For example: in the park you can run and jump but in dad’s room it is different.
- Promote spaces where you can express your opinions and feelings.
- Encourage communication while doing an activity at home; For example, while you eat you can ask him what he likes most about dinner (Gavin, 2019).
- Help him have interaction with his family members, even those who don’t live nearby. It can be through calls.
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At school
Parents and teachers can be involved in offering children different activities to overcome aspects that can interfere with communication and socialization in the classrooms. For example, organize homework that is group-based, so children will meet outside the classroom in a safe environment for them. Also organize team sports tournaments.
Fear and mistrust are normal when children enter school. This occurs because they are drastically changing the social routine that involves only parents and close relatives. Now that they will enter a classroom full of unknown children, it is important to reinforce their self-confidence. This way they will be more likely to create new friendships and can adapt progressively.
Strengthen your child’s confidence by:
- Make him feel that he is valued and listened to.
- Help him resolve conflicts, such as fixing the outcome of a prank (Toriggia, 2019).
- Encourage him to interact with other children without pressure in fun environments. For example, sign him up for summer camp or extracurricular activities such as field trips. Asking him to say hello is an action that your little one may not be ready for. (UNIR, 2020).
- Avoid scolding in public.
- Convey with examples that you are a confident person. If you have a difficulty, you face it positively in front of your child.
- Avoid labeling your child. For example, “he is very shy.”
- Provide opportunities to interact with peers outside of the classroom. Perhaps organizing activities for children at home with their classmates. For example, inviting them to your birthday party or a day of camping.
- Talk to him every day about the positive things about school, about the drawings, the songs, the park and the games.
In other places
Encourage dialogue wherever you go. Ask your child to tell the doctor how he feels or ask the museum guide a question.
Stimulate him through activities, schedule one day a week for him to play in the park. The importance of play in the development of social skills in children is due to the fact that it promotes complicity, that is, it generates socialization (Healthy children, 2019).
The family is the pillar of upbringing in childhood. It is important that their needs are met from this emotional bond and that social skills are stimulated in children from an early age. In this way they will learn to communicate and live together inside and outside the home.