Social skills are an important set of skills that children need to develop in order to thrive. We need to be able to interact with others appropriately in order to move through childhood, adolescence and adulthood successfully. Strong social skills help us to make and maintain meaningful friendships which are important for our mental well-being, confidence, resilience, etc.
So what are social skills? Social skills are the skills we use to interact with others in a mutually respectful way. These can include verbal and non-verbal methods of communication. Social skills that children need to learn include:
- Taking turns
- Emotional regulation
- Respecting and communicating boundaries
- Manners
- Eye contact
- Including others
- Remembering names
- Respectfully expressing one’s own feelings
- Conflict resolution
- Taking turns
- Being able to lose when playing games
- Empathy
- Compromise (and more…)
Social skills are something we as adults can teach our children through guidance and modelling positive behaviours, however peer interaction is arguably the most important way that children can develop these skills. Interacting with other children can help them practice the behaviours listed above, particularly if modelled by a peer member that they look up to.
It is suggested that children interact and play with children both older and younger than them to aid their social skills development. With children of the same age and older, they are able to copy and practice prosocial behaviours such as taking turns, cooperating, sharing and empathy. With younger children they can also develop leadership skills and responsibility.
Kindy, school, or other group settings can provide exposure to new and challenging environments with unfamiliar people, which can be beneficial. Children have the opportunity to practice their social skills and copy skills from others, and they may be required to navigate unpredictable social situations and practice conflict resolution, problem solving, taking turns, etc. We can talk to children all day about positive social behaviour, but they are more likely to learn these skills through practicing in real-life situations.
Children can further develop their social skills by interacting with their local community outside of school, kindy or their family. Getting to know other kids in their neighbourhood, as well as through extra-curricular activities such as sport can broaden children’s social circles. Interacting with a wider variety of people can help children better understand and accept differences, give them a sense of belonging and, again provide more opportunities for social skill development.
At Country Kids OT, we are introducing group activity sessions for this reason. Our aim is to provide opportunities to broaden your child’s social circle over a shared interest or hobby, whilst practicing other OT skills at the same time. Feel free to ask us about our next group activity day and how it might be beneficial for your child.