We all want our children to grow up successful and have a strong character. While there are many different factors that can affect who our children grow up to be, having strong social skills throughout life can give them an edge. From the very beginning, children are picking up on social cues from those around them, parents, friends, teachers, and even observing interactions between strangers. At The Pillars Christian Learning center, our child care center wants to nurture your children in a variety of ways, including growing strong social skills. To learn more about our learning center, give us a call today.
Help Your Child Understand Feelings
The start of nurturing social skills is helping children understand the feelings of others. For example, little Johnny hits Susie and she starts to cry. If Johnny understands that his behavior caused Susie to cry and says he’s sorry, it will go a long way in them becoming friends. Children who can empathize with others will have an easier time getting along with their peers. To help your child understand feelings, help them talk about their own. Ask them what makes them feel happy, sad, or angry, and why do they feel that way. Being able to handle these emotions will help them become balanced adults.
Show Positive Emotions
Handling negative emotions is challenging for young children; but as adults, we can help to show how we react when bad things happen. When children see their parents yelling at a driver who cut them off, they will think that that behavior is acceptable. They may even take that reaction to other situations. If we react calmly in stressful or aggravating situations, they will see that and learn how to have positive emotions even if hard situations.
Age-Appropriate Guidance
A one-year-old may not be aware of what happened when the driver cut you off, but a five-year-old will pick up on that behavior. Depending on the age of your child, there are certain cues that they should be picking up on. Two- and three-year-olds can say “hi” or “bye”, a five-year-old will understand when they feel hurt and be able to say “stop,” and a seven-year-old will start to learn the type of empathy that makes them cry when others are feeling hurt or sad.
Use Games
Like we’ve said before in this blog, children learn through playing games, even when they aren’t aware they are learning. The Name Game, for example, will help children engage in conversation with each other. A group of children forms a circle and one child has a ball. They say the name of another child in the circle and roll the ball towards them. You can even have each child say something about themselves when they are passed the ball. Even making small connections can aid in developing social skills.
Children all develop certain skills at different times, so being patient and fostering a calm attitude in all situations will help them learn. Early childhood development is a priority at our learning center and we want to help our students become successful and well adapted young adults. Through a variety of activities and a traditional education, students at The Pillars Christian Learning Center will learn what it takes to be socially aware. Call us today to learn more about our child care programs.