It’s important for parents to help their children develop appropriate social skills from a young age. So that they’re able to build strong relationships with their peers. Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to help your child with their social skills, as explored below by a preparatory school in Hertfordshire. From teaching your child how to start conversations, to teaching them empathy, we hope this article will help you and your child thrive.
Start With The Basics
You probably already remind your child to say please, thank you, and excuse me, when appropriate, but you should also teach them about things like reading body language and personal space. Children often fail to understand that people have a personal space bubble, and they don’t always want to be touched, climbed on, or sat on. Explain to your child that close family and friends might be more open to hugging and touching than strangers.
You should also help your child understand body language. Someone who is backing away or crossing the arms might feel that their personal space is being invaded. Someone who is frowning might be upset or angry. If your child can understand body language, they will be better at responding in a suitable manner.
Practise Conversation Starters
Sometimes, the most difficult part of a conversation is getting it going, particularly when meeting someone new. With this in mind, it might help your child if you practise some conversation starters. Start by exploring some different greetings, like Hello, Hi, Good Morning etc. You should also share some non-verbal cues, like waving or shaking hands. Teach them some things they could say to someone they’ve just met to get the conversation going, such as:
- Did you have a nice evening/weekend? What did you get up to?
- I like your trainers, where did you get them from?
- This is a fun party. How do you know the host?
- Have you watched anything good on TV recently?
- What have you been up to today?
Help your child understand that when having a conversation, it’s important to take turns speaking. Listening is just as important as talking, so they shouldn’t try to monopolise the conversation.
Encourage Social Interaction
Your child will never become comfortable in social situations if they don’t have the opportunity to practise. With that said, make sure to arrange plenty of playdates with your child when they’re young so they have chance to get to know other children and practise sharing, taking turns, and socialising in general. You should also try and expose them to different types of people in different environments. For instance, you should encourage them to ask the waiter for their order, rather than speaking on their behalf. If you go to the doctors, encourage them to talk about what their symptoms are. This should help them become familiar with talking to professionals. You should also introduce them to your own friends, so they get used to chatting to adults, not just children.
Another way to encourage social interaction is to suggest some extra-curricular clubs that your child could join, like sports or drama. This will give your child an opportunity to meet likeminded people who share their interests, making it easier for them to build strong friendships.
Teach Empathy
Empathy is an important social skill. It is basically the ability to understand and respond to the feelings of others. You can help your child to empathise with others by encouraging them to put themselves in other people’s shoes. This doesn’t necessarily have to be real life people; it could be someone you’ve seen on the TV. Ask them how they think that person might be feeling. Then encourage them to imagine how they would feel themselves if face with a similar situation.
It might help if you start by explaining to your child that everyone is different. We all have different thoughts and feelings, which means we react to certain things in different ways. Your child might not understand why their friend was so upset about something, which is an opportunity for you to explain that what’s upsetting to one person might not be upsetting to another.
You can then teach your child appropriate ways to respond to different people’s feelings. For example, if they see someone crying, they could offer them a tissue or a hug, or ask if there’s anything they can do to help.
If you are worried about your child’s social development, don’t hesitate to seek outside support. It might be beneficial to speak to your child’s teachers and see if they can provide you with some insight. Alternatively, you could speak to a social therapist if you think this is necessary.
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