You might be thinking that your kids learn to read and write in the first few months of preschool or kindergarten. However,  there are many other skills that children need to master before an academic focus is appropriate. Studies show that social skills are the most important skills children should learn.

Social skills are the essential skills to interact and communicate with others. They can be verbal and non-verbal communication, such as speech, facial expression, and body language. Kindergarten is the most important stage to develop social skills as appropriate social and emotional behavior is learned and embedded at this age.

Children need to enhance their social skills to interact with their teachers and classmates. Therefore, parents should focus on some important social skills to develop their child’s social and emotional development.

With this view, Ameya, one of the best international schools in Vizag shares the most crucial social skills for kindergarten children and the ways to teach them.

1. 1. 1. Two-way Communication

          

         Two-way communication is the process of exchanging information between two or more people. You have likely noticed that your child can be pretty social with you because children will communicate with their parents in one form or another.

          

         At this stage, behaviors are copied from what they see and hear, and therefore, you can help your child learn to communicate by:

         • Using appropriate language
         • Using appropriate eye contact
         • Using nonverbal communication based on the situation
         • Responding to each other’s styles of communication

          

      2. Exploration

          

         As children grow, they will start to move around, and their natural curiosity will make them explore their surroundings. Being able to do this is important for your child’s physical, emotional, and social development.

          

         By exploring, children can begin to develop independence and gain trust with the people around them. Some of the activities that improve a child’s exploration include:

         • Provide your kids with items that stimulate different senses
         • Ensure they are moving around in a safe environment
         • Allow children to have enriching experiences daily
         • Let your child get messy with the things as too much structured does not allow for exploration

          

      3. Expressing emotions

          

         Children must learn to appropriately process the emotions they are experiencing. It helps them verbally express their feelings instead of turning them into other emotions. Studies suggest that you teach your child to distinguish emotions like happy, sad, and angry.

          

         The skill of expressing emotions is much-needed in adulthood. So, parents should focus on helping their children learn to express emotions by:

         • Singing and dancing
         • Reading picture books about feelings
         • Imaginative / creative play
         • Modeling different emotions for kids and naming them

          

      4. Cooperating and Sharing

          

         Cooperation is a crucial social skill activity for children. As it was said, sharing is caring! As kids start being social with others at school, to make and keep friends, children must learn how to cooperate in a group and the act of sharing.

          

         Learning how to make things right while being kind and respectful is a must at this stage of development. Ameya, the top school in Vizag, suggests some activities that help your kids learn about cooperation and sharing.

         • Work on a puzzle together
         • Play a game in which participants need to take turns
         • Donate a toy to peers
         • Positively praise your child’s behavior

          

      5. Conflict resolution

          

         Conflict resolution is a way to find a solution to conflicts or disagreements among two or more people. Developing conflict resolution skills gives your child a higher emotional capability so they can better empathize with others.

          

         Learning to manage conflicts will help children to have stronger friendships at school and better social experiences. Help your kids learn about conflict resolution by:

         • Point out conflicts from TV shows or movies and talk about them
         • Teach about compromising
         • Practice apologizing
         • Create role-play scenarios

          

      6. Respecting personal space

          

         Keeping good personal space and boundaries are crucial social skills for children. It will teach your child how to behave with their peers and adults, and most importantly it will keep your child safe.

          

         Therefore, teaching your child to respect personal space is extremely important. And the activities that promote the boundaries include:

         • Give your child verbal reminders about privacy
         • Create spaces at home for your child
         • Give your children options about touch
         • Use carpet squares

          

         From the above information, we have understood that social skills should be explicitly taught for a child to become a well-developed individual. For more information about the skills that are to be inculcated in children, keep following our blog at Ameya World School, Vizag