Helping Your Child To Improve Their Social Skills
15 Feb 2022
Photo by Fabian Centeno on Unsplash
As parents, it’s our job to equip our kids with the life skills they need. Some kids take naturally to socializing, while others can find it a little difficult. Thankfully, there are many ways you can help your kid to thrive. Start off with a few simple tips like these.
1. Support them with their interests
Children learn social skills by following their interests and passions. When they follow their passions, they’ll meet like-minded children who they can easily talk to. Having plenty of hobbies helps children to develop stronger social skills. Some parents make the mistake of choosing hobbies for their kids. It’s far better to ask your children what they’d like to do and let them lead the way.
2. Encourage curiosity
Encourage your children to be curious, this is a great way to build on social skills. Teach them to ask questions, show them how to take an interest in their family members and school friends. When your children are curious and engaged, they’ll excel at social interactions. The better your children become at socializing, the more their confidence will grow. Self-confidence is incredibly valuable, even if your kids are still little.
3. Plenty of reading
Looking for another way to boost your child’s social skills? Studies show that reading is the answer. When children read lots of books, they learn skills like compassion and empathy. They’ll then be able to take these values with them into social situations. Books are great at teaching empathy as children can read about people who are completely different to them. Reading is a fantastic way to improve your child’s mental health. They’ll also grow more confident with their literacy skills.
4. Enroll them in preschool
If your child is a toddler, enrolling them in preschools is a fantastic way to improve their social skills. Going to preschool is the chance to make friends, and practice fun educational activities. They’ll learn how to interact with groups of kids and share toys. They’ll practice self-expression through arts activities, and improve their fine motor skills through physical play.
5. Invite their friends over
Perhaps your child is a little shy? Maybe they aren’t confident enough to ask their friends over? If so, you can give them a little help. Inviting your child’s friends over can really help them with their social interaction. Little things like this can make all the difference to your child’s mental health. Once you’ve tried out all these different ideas, you might be keen to check out a few online resources. For a little extra help, check out these top parenting podcasts:
• Little Sprigs Podcast
• Parenting Beyond Discipline
• Happy Mum Happy Baby
As you can see, there are so many different ways you can support your child. With a little help, you’ll soon see your child thrive. Whether it’s a preschool program or an after-school club, there are plenty of ways your kid can improve their social skills.
Cheers,
Big Daddy
If you are a PR agency or brand and would like me to review a travel destination, vehicle, restaurant, product or service, please send me an email at craig@bigdaddykreativ.ca
Craig Silva
Craig is a husband, a father, team leader, travel and food writer, senior youth group coordinator, designer, brander, community builder, volunteer, and social media strategist. Craig likes to travel, go camping, go on road trips, watch movies, build stuff, operate the grill, and sing with his band. Craig is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada. In June 2017, PR firm Cision identified Craig as one of Canada’s top 10 most popular male bloggers in the parents and family space.
