Warm and supportive interaction between you and your child helps them to develop social skills.
Your child will learn how to regulate and express their emotions by following your example. Your child also receives tools to understand other people's perspectives by interacting with you and other family members.
Your calm presence and comfort can help your child to deal with strong emotions.
Other children can bring your child joy and company in playtime. With friends, your child can practise negotiation, conflict resolution and empathy. These experiences lay the foundations for later relationships and help the child to understand social norms and the perspectives of others.
Support emotional skills
Try to stay calm and be present when your child is hit by a big emotion, such as anger or disappointment. For example, if your child has a temper tantrum in the sweets section of the grocery store, you can accept the emotion and say out loud that they are upset because they did not get any sweets. All emotions are allowed, but behavioural control can be learned.
Set an example of how to deal with big emotions. For example, when you yourself feel disappointed or angry, tell your child and aim to show them by your example how you deal with the emotion in an appropriate way.
Näytä mallia siitä, miten isoja tunteita kohdataan. Kun esimerkiksi itse kohtaat pettymyksen tai sinua suututtaa, kerro se lapsellesi ja pyri näyttämään esimerkilläsi, miten käsittelet tunnettasi sopivalla tavalla.
Support friendships
Friendships will help your child learn important social skills such as cooperation, interaction and emotional regulation. Friendships will also support the development of a child's self-esteem and provide a sense of belonging.
There are many ways you can support your child's friendships. You can offer them opportunities to meet peers e.g. by
- organising play dates
- visiting playgrounds
- taking your child to a club or hobby.
At home, you can model good interaction skills for your child and discuss friendships and their importance. Children also practise social skills with their siblings.
It is also important that you support your child in conflict situations and help them find constructive solutions to disputes between friends and other challenges.
Activities for families with kids
You can offer your child opportunities to spend time with other children for instance by attending library story times or visiting nearby playgrounds.
