Helping Your Child with their Social Skills*

*This is a collaborative post*

 

All parents want the best for their children, on both an academic and personal level. This includes ensuring that they have excellent social skills so that they can build strong relationships. There are lots of ways that you can help your child become a social butterfly and a proficient communicator, as explored below by an independent school in Surrey.

As with any life lesson, it’s important for your children to see you as a good role model. In other words, if you want them to be well mannered, confident and capable of carrying a conversation, you will have to demonstrate this with your own social interactions so that they can learn from the best. When talking to other people in front of your child, incorporate good manners and show that listening is just as important as talking.

Allow your child to experience social interaction on a regular basis, from a young age, so that they feel comfortable with it as they grow up. You can do so by inviting friends and relatives for play dates and getting involved with community activities. For instance, before your child starts school, you could join a mother and toddler group where your little one can interact with other kids their age and learn about taking turns and sharing. When they are a little older, you could convince them to join some sort of extracurricular activity, such as a sports club, where they can meet like-minded people and make lifelong friends.

 

 

 

If your child is quite shy and seems to be struggling with social situations, you could help them by role-playing a few conversation starters, as this is often the hardest part of an interaction with someone. Let them know that compliments and questions are a great way to break the ice when meeting someone new. For example, they could say “I love your shoes, where did you get them?”. You should also teach them a little bit about body language so that they start to understand that people don’t always use words to demonstrate how they feel.

Don’t rush it, but also don’t give up; your child will feel comfortable with social interactions in their own time. If you are truly concerned, don’t be afraid to contact your child’s teacher so that they can help you think of some ways to make socialisation easier on your child.

 

*Header photo source Pexels 

*Second photo source

FOLLOW GIRLGONEDREAMER:

Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin' | Instagram

Subscribe to GirlGone Dreamer by Email