BUILD SOCIAL SKILLS

We cannot always build the future for our children, but we can build our children for the future.

Our human race is essentially social by nature. But there has been a paradigm shift in children’s behaviour which is glaringly noticeable over the past decade or two.

We can attribute several reasons for that but essentially. we can see that there is massive migration from the villages to the urban areas in search of employment & small spaces have given way to small flats where only nuclear families can live & slowly but gradually.

 Joint family.The system is fading away which in turn has restricted the children’s interaction with larger families.

The limited interaction with the parents who have to pursue careers and jobs to make two ends meet. And clear EMI’s have further reduced the free flow of positive communication between parents & children.

This is Coupled with security concerns as many families do not encourage familiarity with other people in the neighbourhood have led to children becoming socially isolated.

The latest nail was the pandemic which compelled us to be socially distant from others also the schools were closed for the longest time. This led to some smaller children becoming “social recluses” as they never went to play in swing parks or child interaction was almost negligible because of Covid-19.

Also Read:   10 Benefits Of Co-Education in School

At JBM Smart Start we often advise parents & Teachers to adopt certain measures to improve their social skills. We give you ten ideas to adopt

1. Identify the child’s interest.
2. Involve them in role-playing. ( we have created enough material in the school for that) .
3. Make them inquisitive, ask them questions, and prod them for answers .
4. 4 .Be Empathetic , and have patience while listening .
5. You must keep Exemplary Behavior as a teacher or parent for them to emulate .
6. Team games can be a good source for building social skills.
7. Best Buddy program in class & at home .
8. Play dates can be organized.
9. Evidence-based social skill activity .
10. Play games that encourage eye contact .

• 
  At our Foundation school we feel Smart start should consider skilling the Social skills.

At Smart Start we believe, that if we don’t give more credence  to the child’s viewpoint the “ Grownups will never understand anything by themselves and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them” .

Also Read:  Why Preschool Education is Important?

But What  we can encourage at home & School are the 9 virtues  of social skills.

• Sharing –––– Be it things or ideas , toys or Tiffin .
• Patience–––– To listen to what the child wishes to express .  
• Collaborating ­­­­­­­­­­–––––Making small groups or pairs in
• school or at home to accomplish the task.
• Cooperation–––––To get a child out of a problem or understand the situation & give guidance accordingly .
• Patience ––– Must maintain an open ear to listen & solve the problems of any situation which seems messy ensure with our patience& guidance the child can get through it .
• Positive Attitude ––– Keep negative Reactions and “NO” at bay & put “forward” Yes we can do it / complete it / learn its attitude in the forefront .
• Know the Boundaries –––––So far so good . The crux  lies in giving them enough freedom to evolve yet work within structure & boundaries . Everything is possible within limits .
• Empathetic Attitude ––––– willingness to put yourself in their shoes & understand the child’s circumstances & attitude . Will take the defiance and obstinacy away .
• Acceptance ––––– Total acceptance of child not measured on the scale of performance or behaviour . It is the act that could be wrong or right but not the child .

If we keep the above Nine gems in mind we as caregivers, mentors & parents can keep the faith alive & / be rest assured that social skills will develop to the hilt  .with fewer behavioral issues.

We at our foundation school give equal credence to verbal & non-verbal communication.

Also Read:  5 Crucial Life Skills Kids Must Learn In-Pre-Primary School

It  is fascinating how social behavior & attitude can be balanced if  take care of this aspect from early years we can make children more independent , less sissy & more well-adjusted adults .

Though differences will always be there no two rules can be the same for all the children .

Social skills are more important than probably academic skills as it has long-term as term dividends When the children turned out to be well-mannered, friendly , and inquisitive & get involved in all the social skills , motor skills  & cognitive development skills planned by the school to reap the good results .

These  skills have a long and far-reaching echo in society than even academic skills . What parents & schools have to do together is to maintain a balancing act & build social skills in the child bit by bit , day after day with an age-appropriate background .