How to Help Your Child with their Social Skills

Social skills aren’t something we’re born with, they are something we must develop over time in order to build healthy relationships and have the confidence to speak comfortably with people. Some children struggle with this, which is why it’s important for parents to help where they can. Here are some tips from a private school in Hampstead.

Organise Play Dates

You can’t expect your child to feel comfortable socialising if they are never given the chance to practise. With this in mind, try to organise regular playdates with other children their age so that they can learn social etiquette, like sharing and taking turns. Be sure to praise them when you see them behaving favourably towards someone so that they know it is the right thing to do. You should also introduce them to your own friends so that they can become familiar with talking to adults as well as other children.

Encourage Extra-Curricular Activities

Joining a club or partaking in some kind of hobby will give your child a chance to meet like-minded people who share their interests. As well as having fun and developing various skills, extra-curricular activities like drama, dance, choir, or sport, will give your child a chance to practise their social skills as well. 

Teach Conversation Starters

Talk to your child about some of the ways in which they can start a conversation with a new person so that they feel less nervous about it. Starting a conversation is often the hardest part, so share some examples of things they could say. Compliments and questions are usually the best bet. Here are some suggestions:

• Hi, my name is X, what’s your name?
• Did you have a nice evening/weekend? What did you get up to?
• I saw you talking to X, how do you guys know each other?
• I like your shoes, where did you get them from?

The best thing you can do to help your child with their social skills is to lead by example. Show them how to treat people with respect and emphasise that listening is just as important as talking when having a conversation. Children learn a lot by observing their parents, so make sure they are learning the right ways to communicate with people. 

This is a collaborative post.