Benefits of the Communication and Relationships social skills for children
The benefits of the Communication and Relationships social skills e-book are that effective communication and social skills enable children to develop strong relationships with family, colleagues and friends and work in a productive, harmonious and enjoyable way. Learning how to cooperate and work in a group as well as understanding when to lead and when to follow are valuable skills. Other social skills for children to learn include understanding how to avoid unnecessary conflict and how to be a good communicator. Building relationships is essential for creating a happy and productive life. This e-book contains 12 easy to follow activities that can be done in 15 minutes that you can undertake with your child to develop these social skills.
Importance of developing these social skills for children
People are social beings, so being able to communicate with others is a valuable skill for building personal and professional relationships. It is so heartbreaking for a parent to hear the words “I’ve got no friends, nobody wants to play with me”. Teaching children social skills allows them to know what it means to be a good friend and to develop communication skills which will help them make and keep the right kind of friends. These social skills for children are extremely valuable life skills for your child.
Understanding the complexity of social relationships requires more than just trial and error and a simple understanding of the use of ‘manners’ and ‘protocol’. Your child's social development and communication skills need to be developed over time, and can become more complex as is age appropriate, through a comprehensive program of instruction, interaction, experience, reflection and practice.
How to develop the Communication and Relationships social skills for children
The Communication and Relationships e-book provides parenting advice and helpful tips you can try to support your child’s social development around communication and relationship building include:
Help your child understand that communication is about an exchange and so there are times when they can speak and time when they need to listen.
Relationships are complex and often people don’t actually say what they mean and their words don’t match their true feelings or thoughts. It’s helpful to explain the complex nature of relationships and to invite your child to practice using more than their ears when they communicate with others. For example, invite them to observe a person’s body language and to learn to trust their instinct when they feel a person is not being truthful with them.
Can your children make friends easily? Do your children have the ‘right kind’ of friends or do they have friends that pressure them into doing things they know they shouldn’t. Help them identify the qualities they are looking for in a friend so they are more likely to attract and nurture supportive friendships.
Feeling anger is a normal and natural part of life. Things can go wrong and people can get angry! However, some people take their anger out on others and this can destroy relationships. You can help your children manage and express their anger in a way that does not hurt others. For example, you can model or encourage your children to walk away from a situation when they feel angry and take time out to look at the situation calmly. Once they have some perspective they can discuss what has upset them with more clarity and less emotion.
Our son is only 4, but like many young children when he gets angry he can hit out. When I see this I begin by acknowledging his anger rather than ignoring or reprimanding him. I might say in quite a firm voice “You are angry, angry, angry.” And then I pause to allow him to see I acknowledge how he feels. Then I might say “use your words, tell mummy why you are angry but don’t hit. Use your words mummy is listening, just use your words!”
Learn more about how teaching children life skills can take the pain out of parenthood - Win Win Parenting
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