Man is a social animal and the pandemic has made us realize this even more. Being stuck at home hasn’t been easy or fun for any of us, let alone our children. Being indoors with almost negligible social interaction has affected the little ones in more ways than one. Adding on to this is the fact that not enough early-years education curriculum has been paying attention to this.
Apart from the social awkwardness that sets in, this has also resulted in children lacking the social skills that would help them in adult life. 5 of the most important social skills to acquaint our children with are listed below:
Emotional expression – One of the primary needs of any child is to be able to successfully express themselves. For this, they need to be able to label their emotions verbally. As parents, we need to teach them to distinguish between emotions like happy, sad, angry, hungry, and so on. Only once they are aware and able to understand their emotion can they learn to manage these. This is an important social skill as children would inadvertently be exposed to various reasons that stir up an array of emotions and they need to be able to cope with these.
Empathy – Another very important life skill is empathy. Compassion, care, and kindness all have roots in empathy. A child who learns to be empathetic early in life will treat everything around them with a gentleness that will help in making this world a better place to be in.
Cooperation – Cooperation is important for adults as well as it is for children. Cooperation simply means working together with others towards a common goal. Cooperation would call for respecting and accommodating when others make requests. It also involves valuable contribution, participation, and the will to help out other members in need.
Listening – One of the most undervalued skill for a healthy communication is listening. Listening means more than simply hearing what is being said. It also means understanding the message that is being conveyed.
Non-verbal skills – While verbal communication makes up a significant part of our lives, non-verbal communication is equally important. This includes gestures, manners, postures, and tone of voice. These are important because when you understand things that are unsaid, communication becomes effective and efficient.
Various international pre-schools have now shifted focus from just academics to the overall development of your child. They employ play-based learning methods to achieve this feature. It is important to understand that a socially compatible child is an asset to the community.
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