If you are a parent or guardian looking to teach social skills to kids, you are in the right place! Learn which essential social skills to introduce to your bundles of joy and uncover why it is important in the first place. This article outlines and explains the top eight social skills for children every parent or guardian needs to teach to help kids thrive and grow into productive teens and adults.
Before anything else, we recommend consulting with an expert. If you are in the area or you are looking for the best professionals near you, consider reaching out to a pediatrician in Miami, Florida.
That said, here are the eight crucial social skills for kids to master.
The Top 8 Social Skills for Kids Explained
One of the biggest hassles of parenthood is introducing kids to important social skills. You’ll notice that even when interacting and playing with each other, kids tend to have difficulty collaborating, sharing, cooperating, and empathizing. It’s a fact that kindergarteners and preschoolers are typically egocentric. That’s where these children’s social skills come in handy. These include listening, sharing, cooperating and collaborating, following directions, having empathy, patience, positivity, and respecting boundaries. Below, you will find these children’s social skills explained in detail.
Listening Skills
One of the essential social skills for kids is active listening. In fact, even adults find this life skill challenging! Since absorbing information and deciphering it correctly requires a lot of focus, we can all struggle with it sometimes. Young kids can find this skill extremely difficult to learn. However, active listening is beneficial because it strengthens the child’s receptive language skills or ability to understand spoken language. Moreover, receptive language skills can be helpful for the child because they will be able to:
- Answer questions
- Handle different social interactions
- Comprehend stories
- Understand what they are reading
- Understand different gestures
While working on important social skills, kids will understand how crucial it is to listen actively when other people are speaking. One of the biggest parts of healthy communication is paying attention to the other individual and responding to the statements directly.
If you have any questions, concerns, or doubts related to your child’s health, consult with a trained expert like Dr. Hernandez-Puga. Results are always guaranteed.
Sharing with Others
Social skills for children, such as sharing, are a part of everyday life. However, sharing is hard.
Young children (and even many adults) find the concept of sharing very difficult to understand. Kindergarteners, preschoolers, and toddlers can find it tough to grasp, as these age groups are usually always focused on their desires and needs than the desires and needs of other people. This is entirely normal, and it happens all the time. Most children will have a feeling that something is only “theirs,” and this feeling is stronger than pleasing others. Although learning how to share is difficult, it is one of the most important social skills for kids. Sharing will help the child advance and keep friendships, and it is also the perfect way to show appreciation and bond!
Cooperating and Collaborating
Cooperating and collaborating are some of the most important social skills for kids, but they can be equally as hard to learn as sharing – or harder! When the child masters cooperation and collaboration skills, he or she will learn that group work allows for the chance to listen to the ideas of others and to share own ideas. Children will realize that working in groups is fun and worthwhile.
While cooperating and collaborating may seem simple, young children can struggle with them. Parents and guardians may need to have extra patience when teaching these children’s social skills. Nevertheless, once they grasp the idea, kids can start working toward a common goal, and they will advance sharing skills to include physical and intellectual feats.
Following Directions
Excellent listening skills and following directions go hand in hand, and teaching your child these important social skills should be a priority. Learning to follow the rules will become even more important once kids enter school. Many children may struggle to follow the directions of authority figures at school (like teachers) when they get used to only following directions from parents. Nevertheless, this is also very normal.
With time, the child will learn how following directions and active listening overlap with each other. Kids who are good at active listening will find it easier to follow directions. It is motivating when there is a reward for hard work!
While following directions is one of the most important social skills for children that parents eagerly want their kids to master, it is vital to start teaching it slowly. Often, multi-step directions can confuse young learners. Instead, give the child a single direction at a time.
Having Empathy
When someone has empathy, they have the crucial ability to share feelings with others and understand the feelings of others (and their own feelings!). Children should learn how to appreciate the differences and similarities between the lives of other people and their own lives. Children’s social skills like empathy are essential because young learners will understand that we are all similar, even though, on the surface, we may look different.
Remember that empathy doesn’t appear out of the blue. The child will develop it over time. One of the best ways to teach your child empathy is to show them what empathy means. Parents and caregivers should extend grace to children – many times; they will give it back!
Having Patience
Young children are usually impatient. However, patience can help maintain relationships and friendships, which can be one of the keys to achieving long-lasting goals. Delayed gratification is a concept children should be taught at an early age. Help your child understand that amazing things often require patience. By doing this, you will nurture the child into a patient adult.
Being Positive
Having an overall positive outlook on life will make it easier for the child to make new friends and keep existing ones. Moreover, positive children will have better success in school and achieve goals more easily. Demonstrate what “positivity” looks like by modeling it to your kids. Praise your child when they make progress with social skill development. However, you will also want to include a healthy amount of constructive criticism. To teach your children positivity, you will want to begin with your own feelings and emotions. Tell your child when you are feeling happy or sad, and explain how you manage these feelings. Children should understand that feeling angry, sad, or upset is normal and that there are ways to cope with these emotions (in a healthy way).
Respecting Boundaries
By teaching children to identify boundaries and to ask for permission correctly, they will have a more profound sense of respect for others and themselves. Explain to your child that it is acceptable to say “NO” to kisses and kisses. If they feel uncomfortable, they do not need to be hugged or touched, even if it is by someone they know. Try to model the idea by asking the child questions like “would you like a kiss?”.
Give Us a Call Today
With time and patience, the child will become better at social skills and will realize the benefits of having them in the first place! Of course, every child is different and unique. While some are fast learners, others may require more care. If you have questions or concerns or are looking for expert guidance, book an appointment with us today!
