Developing social skills in childhood not only helps build more positive relationships, but also allows children to interact better with others What we will discuss here is the true basis of social and emotional education, where empathy and self-affirmation are two undisputed psychic pillars.
How do our children really learn? According to several studies in social psychology and also research conducted by Albert Bandura, children develop much of their learning through observation, imitation and continuous interaction.
- “Social skills can seem very complicated because they contain feelings.
- Beliefs.
- Values.
- And a vast repertoire of strategies with which a child must be able to survive and achieve their social and emotional journey in a healthy way.
All these processes are known as “sociability” and are the determining basis of a child’s life, in this way, depending on the quality of these processes and experiences lived, perceptions, constructed relationships and social and emotional aspects assumed, healthy and Effective social skills will be built or, on the contrary, a set of deficiencies that are usually quite problematic when they arrive. tying period.
On the other hand, what children’s psychology experts often comment on is that today’s social reality is much more complex for children than for their parents in the past. The media, new technologies and constant changes in the rules of society place children in an extremely broad field where they have difficulty orienting themselves.
The forms of relationship and even the way we know people have changed, social networks and messaging applications are more dynamic, offer very fast opportunities, have no filters, control mechanisms and sometimes, obviously, are very dangerous.
It is positive that children’s social development develops in many areas, many areas and new scenarios; it is also vital to make these tools available to children, sufficient and necessary so that they can develop effectively and healthily in an increasingly rich and broad social sphere. , which is very valuable. Hence the importance of learning children’s social skills.
One of the most effective strategies for teaching children about social skills is to create a ‘social language’ from childhood. It is a mostly quite understandable, basic and effective type of language that even 2-year-olds understand.
Remember that this age is a decisive moment in the growth of the child, because that is when he begins to claim his early autonomy, to form his personality and to be much more receptive to everything that happens in his environment.
This social language will promote the early development of children’s social skills and is based on the following areas:
To make our children learn to appreciate each other, if they love each other and protect their rights and identity, is to invest in their quality of life and give wings to their personal potential, but how do we do it?. On certain occasions, we are so involved in promoting curricular skills and making them good at math and proficiency in English that we completely neglect the essentials: fostering a positive picture of themselves.
“Childhood has its own ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling; Nothing dumber than pretending to replace them with ours?-Jean-Jacques Rousseau-
Teaching our children the art of assertiveness should be one of our top priorities as parents or educators, this area is also related to self-esteem, but it goes further, it is the ability to know how to protect and claim rights, to understand that others also deserve the same respect as her. Finally, it is the healthiest essence of our sociability and the bridge that allows us to walk safely in the personal, academic or professional sphere.
We need to give our children the right tools to learn how to manage their emotions early, only then will they realize that anger or anger, for example, must be controlled in advance to demonstrate irritation, disappointment, or contradiction in a correct and intelligent way. Conduct.
Few gifts are so precious to a person who enjoys his childhood in the company of his first friends, these early allies of adventure, wonderful accomplices of evil and wonderful discoveries. Promoting these early relationships and their quality is also our responsibility, promoting the development of children’s social skills.
Life does not always take place in a straight line, which is difficult, sometimes it hurts and makes it extremely confusing, what we would certainly like to do would be to be able to eliminate all the difficulties, problems and possible conflicts that may arise. in the lives of our children. However, if we did that, we would not educate a child to live in society, we would create a person to live in a perfect environment and out of reality.
Certainly, at some point in their lives, these children will have to face all these contradictions so common in human beings where the origin of the conflict appears, so it is necessary to give them strategies so that, from these changes, good things always emerge. for both afternoons. Here are some tips:
Finally, one thing we should also consider about children’s social skills is that we generally do not give much importance to this area during childhood, however, when we reach the last years of primary school and, mainly, in adolescence, the first problems of socialization, suffering and conflict appear.
“Not all children are the same, some have a greater ability to control themselves, others have trouble communicating with confidence, and others find that violence is the only way to express how they feel. “
The correct development of children’s social skills is not limited to ‘proposing strategies’, just as vitamins are offered, an instruction manual or a gift that is not known to be used, first of all, it is about understanding the needs and that is where we need the cooperation of all, therefore it is necessary that families are always in contact with teachers and vice versa to promote the development of the social skills of the Children. Should we be more sensitive to the inner world of children, where often inappropriately?express the deepest needs?
The development of social skills in childhood is very important. We need to give this the attention it really deserves.