Do you have a child that is struggling with making friends? Are they shy or just not sure how to start conversations? Here are 5 tips for improving your child’s social skills.
1. Teach your child to approach people she doesn’t know yet
The first and most important thing you should teach your kids is how to approach a person they don’t know. Basically, what you want them to learn, is the “I’m new here” trick. You can do it like this: Hold their hand and look for someone. Let them know that you are looking for someone. Then, after a while, let go of their hand and tell them to approach the person they were looking for (even if you didn’t find this person at all).
2. Teach your children how to greet people
This rule can be very helpful during shopping or another activity where your child needs to greet other people. Just tell your child to look at you, smile, and greet everyone politely with a simple “hello.” Do not forget to make them say goodbye before leaving the person they just met.
3. Teach them to express themselves
Children are naturally shy, so it’s always good to teach them how to express themselves flexibly and politely. For example: If they don’t like activity and want to do something else instead – tell them to say: I really like this game, but I would prefer… or Let’s play a different game together”.
4. Don’t let them interrupt when someone is speaking
When people are talking, your child should listen to them. Before allowing your child to answer a question or add something to the conversation, make sure that she understood everything that was said.
5. Teach them how to share
Sharing with others is not just for keeping the peace between friends. Sharing is a good way to teach your child the value of things. You can start by showing them how important it is that everyone gets their turn. When they are sharing something with you, make sure that everyone has the same chance.
Besides these, we also think you should ensure your child follows a healthy diet. The reason being when your child is ill most of the time, they don’t get the chance to play with their friends and miss out on a lot of play which is a good start for socializing with kids with fun games of their age and eventually feel left out.
One way to ensure your child is healthy is through a balanced diet. Introduce a hot drink milk powder like Junior Horlicks if your child doesn’t like to drink milk which is an essential source of calcium. In all, ensure your child is healthy physically and mentally to actively participate in their socialization process.
