The Power of Teaching Young Children Social Skills
“Pink, Pink”, my niece excitedly
repeated as she walked into the kitchen. I loved the way she attempted to say paint. She was only two years old, and
she was quickly expanding her vocabulary every day. I grabbed the paint
supplies and she got to work. I intently watched her, she smiled and made a
series of small designs on the paper. She then looked up at me and handed me a
paint brush. “You want TiTi to paint too”? She excitedly shook her head yes. I
then began to make a series of polka-dots and straight lines. Then something
pretty incredible happened- she mirrored my exact patterns; stroke for stroke,
she began to paint just like me.
Social development begins early.
Whether we notice it or not, babies and young children are intensely and
consistently observing their environment. They perceive our social cues and then
model the very social skills they have learned from watching us. As babies grow
into small children, educators and parents are tasked with a great
responsibility; we must instill social values in our children to help them navigate
the complicated world of social interaction.
Parents and educators are a primary
key of early childhood socialization and have a unique opportunity to teach social
skills which focus on targeting those essential skills that are significant to
social interactions.
Here are my top tips for teaching
social skills
1 – Be ready to remind your children about how to behave readily:
Children are not microwave meals: it’s normal and necessary to constantly remind them to be polite. Small reminders such as “say please and thank you” culminate over time and help them to naturally be polite in their interactions independently.
2 – Be the change you want to see – Show, don’t tell:
Demonstrate to children the desired behavior
you expect from them. If you wish them to be polite and be kind to others, you
must display kindness and gratefulness to others.
3 – Praise and reinforce the behavior that you want to:
It
is always more productive to enhance the actions you want to see. Instead of
admonishing them, giving them praise and rewards can help encourage good
behaviors and also is vital in building up their sense of self-esteem and
confidence.
4 – Build as you go:
Teaching
children happens one day at a time and we can build skills incrementally. You and your children may find it much easier
if you focus on just a few things at a time, in an age-appropriate way.
5 – Help them understand “a walk in someone else’s shoes”:
If your child doesn’t understand how their
behavior affects others they probably won’t see a reason to act any
differently. Not only will learning empathy lower the chance of your child interacting
negatively with others, but it can also help improve others’ interactions with your
child.
There are several ways to help children develop social skills. Social values are instilled when parents and educators are consistent and patient. Remember that social development and understanding how to interact with people is a lifelong learning process.
- https://www.skillsyouneed.com/parent/social-skills-children.html
- https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/professional-development-social-skills-and-young-children/
Tiana Brown is the Assistant Director of the Norwalk Housing Authority Learning Centers
