Social skills is a range of behaviours, attitudes, and abilities that enable individuals to interact harmoniously with others. They include effective communication, active listening, empathy, cooperation, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation. By mastering these skills, children can form positive relationships, express their thoughts and feelings, understand others' perspectives, adapting and behaving appropriately in social situations.
There have been numerous studies conducted on the development of social skills in babies and children. Researchers have found that infants as young as few months old begin to engage in social interactions, such as making eye contact, imitating facial expressions, and responding to voices.
Around 6 to 9 months of age, most babies start to demonstrate basic social skills, such as sharing attention with others, engaging in simple turn-taking games and responding to their own names. By the time they reach their toddler years, children typically become more adept at social interactions, such as engaging in parallel play, showing empathy and understanding basic rules.
However, for some children social skills can prove to be incredibly difficult to get to grips with so they need the space to learn and practise.
To help children understand social skills, it's important to first establish a foundation of basic learning. Here are six key areas to focus on:
Emotional awareness:
Children should learn to recognise and understand their own emotions, as well as others. This includes identifying different emotions, understanding facial expressions, body language, and developing empathy.
Active listening:
Teach children the importance of attentive listening and encourage them to pay attention to others when they speak. This involves maintaining eye contact, nodding or responding appropriately, and avoiding interruptions.
Turn-taking and sharing:
Help children learn the concept of taking turns during conversations, games, and activities. Encourage sharing and taking into consideration the needs and wants of others.
Problem-solving:
Teach children how to identify and resolve conflicts or issues that arise during social interactions. This can involve negotiation, compromise, and finding win-win solutions.
Respect and kindness:
Instil values of respect, kindness, and inclusivity in children. Teach them to treat others with courtesy, use polite language, and appreciate diversity.
Social cues:
Help children understand non-verbal cues, such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. This will enable them to interpret social situations more accurately.
Remember, these are just a few aspects of the foundational learning needed for understanding social skills. It's crucial to provide consistent guidance, practise, and reinforcement to help children develop and apply these skills in their daily lives.
As children grow older social situations become a lot more complex and children without a good foundation in social skills will find it difficult to keep up.
Research suggests that children who don't have social skills end up being isolated and then in turn, struggle with mental health and relationships when they reach adulthood.
Superbunny and Me provides children with the knowledge and tools to build their social skills and develop self-awareness and confidence.
Email: info@superbunnyandme.co.uk