Supporting your child with their social skills

[AD] It’s not uncommon for children to be shy about meeting new people, especially as they’ve not had the same opportunity to develop their confidence and social skills. It comes with some getting used to and exposure to help them out of their comfort zone. If this is an area that you’re trying to work on with your child, below are some top tips we’ve put together with a boarding school in the West Midlands.

_{[Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash]}

How to help develop your child's social skills

Have more frequent conversations

The first thing that we’d recommend is having more frequent conversations with your child as it will build their speaking and listening skills that are essential for socialising. This can also build their confidence and willingness to share their thoughts. 

Arrange playdates with others their age

Outside of the home however, things may be a little trickier as they will need to interact with new people. To develop these particular skills and their confidence to make new friends, look to set up playdates with other children their age. It will give them the chance to learn skills such as sharing and how to overcome challenges similar to what they will come across in school. 

Build their emotional intelligence

What they also must work on is their emotional intelligence and understanding of body language. Much of what someone’s trying to say is interpreted through body language and it can give children a clearer idea of how to respond. As a starting point, parents should explore what the different emotions are with children and what they typically look like. Practice at handling them is also vital so you may want to role play situations that they will likely encounter at school and in their day to day.

Encourage them to have consideration for others

Of course, there will be situations that you cannot prepare your child for, and in those instances what they will need to do is be able to judge for themselves. What can help with this is learning to put themselves in others’ shoes and thinking about how they would want to be treated in similar situations.

A Side Note for Parents: While you will of course need to edge your child out of their comfort zone at some point, be mindful that you’re not forcing your child into anything that makes them feel particularly anxious. To avoid this, make this a more gradual process so they can slowly get used to being around others and socialising.