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Social skills are parts of the life skills. Parents should know how to help children develop social skills because they are vital components of raising children. Parenthood involves so many aspects and areas that it can seem overwhelming at times. With a little patience, lots of love and an openness to learn what social skills children need to know, you can surely work towards teaching your children these vital social skills soon enough.

Before we start, I would like to share a set of social skill books to teach to children in the young age. This set of book will cover most of the points on how to help children develop social skills

 Learning To Get Along Resource Library Set of 12 Soft Cover Books

How to Help Children Develop Social Skills

Language Comprehension

In order to interact with others, children will need to comprehend basic language that’s used in their everyday life.  When you help a child develop this social skill they will be better able to articulate what they’re trying to communicate with others. Language comprehension is a huge social skill that helps with effective communication.

Eye Contact

It’s important to teach children how to maintain eye contact when speaking with another person. This helps guide the conversation in a positive direction.  Some children struggle with eye contact, especially children who are on the autism spectrum. While your child may struggle with this ability, try to encourage not force them to make eye contact during every conversation they have with you.

Good Manners

It’s best to teach children good manners from a young age as this will play a key factor in ensuring that their social interactions are positive experiences.  Manners are essential in ensuring that our children treat others with respect and kindness. A child with good manners will be more grateful and appreciative of others, which is extremely important in life.  

Self-Awareness and Emotions

Children will need to learn more about their emotions and how they react to different scenarios in order to use their language comprehension to respond appropriately to all types of circumstances.  As children get older they naturally get better about self-awareness and handling their emotions, but this comes with practice and the encouragement from their parents.

Listening with Empathy

In addition to self-awareness, children need to develop good empathy skills in order to practice positive social interactions with others.  Children on the autism spectrum will have to be taught empathy a bit differently than a child not on the spectrum; however, any child can learn to listen with empathy. This social skill will better allow children to understand others no matter what the situation is.

Conflict Resolution

Being an active listener is another social skill that children need to know because it will help them maintain a positive conversation, even when the conversation gets heated.  This will be a vitally important social skill for a child to master, as they will require it long into adulthood.

Following Directions

Children need to comprehend good listening skills that allow them to comprehend and follow directions well in any given social situation where they may be learning something new.  Learning how to follow directions will be a much desired social skill for children as they enter the workforce as teenagers and adults too.

Being a Friend

Lastly, being a friend to their peers is something that children need to know. This helps them maintain positive friendships and help make others feel welcomed no matter what. Friendship will be an important skill for your child no matter what their age. Learning how to be a good friend is probably one of the most important social skills we can teach our children.

Here are some good books for children age 4 – 7:

How to Be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them (Dino Life Guides for Families)How to Lose All Your Friends (Picture Puffins)Join In and Play (Learning to Get Along®)Being Friends

If your teens are interested to friendship topics:

Speak Up and Get Along!: Learn the Mighty Might, Thought Chop, and More Tools to Make Friends, Stop Teasing, and Feel Good About YourselfHow to Make & Keep Friends: Tips for Kids to Overcome 50 Common Social ChallengesThe Survival Guide for Making and Being Friends

Social skills are important in ensuring children learn how to develop and maintain positive friendships. Not only will social skills help your child to maintain a positive friendship but it will encourage them to engage and interact with society in a positive way. As your children get older their social skills will need to improve based on their age and other experiences in their life. Having a solid education in social skills will help children thrive in many ways because they’ll be better equipped to handle any peer-to-peer situation with ease.   

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