How to Help Your Shy Child Be Social
Posted On: March 2, 2018 By Jim Newton
Learning social skills is part of every child’s upbringing; however, the way kids learn social skills differs based on a few factors including the child’s individual, unique personality. The temperament your child is born with can influence how they engage with others, and whether or not they become extroverted or more withdrawn from others. It’s important to know that both have their advantages, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing to enjoy time alone. However, social interaction is simply a part of life, and therefore it’s important for our children to know how to interact politely, meaningfully, and healthily with others. Without desire to change our children’s individual characteristics, here are some ways that you can help your child learn to engage well with others.
Develop their sense of self
How your child interacts with others has a lot to do with how they feel about themselves. Depending on your child’s age, it’s possible that their personality and identity has not yet fully formed, and social interaction can certainly shape who they become as individuals. By helping your children understand their likes, dislikes, preferences, and emerging social identity, you can help your child relate to others. You can do this by reading stories with your child, or reflecting on experiences throughout the day with them.
Engage them in activities they enjoy
As children’s identity forms, they tend to be drawn to certain activities and interests over others. For instance, your child may appreciate art and creativity over scientific explanations and technical processes. Once you get a gauge on your child’s interests, you can introduce them to group activities that involve their favorite things. For instance, an active child might enjoy gymnastics, sports, or dance, whereas another child might enjoy a book club or an art class.
Schedule playdates
Again, depending on how old your child is, you might think about scheduling playdates with other kids who live nearby or who they go to school with. It’s important to stay with your child for most playdates, especially if they’re older. That way you can determine if it’s a safe place to leave your child or if they actually enjoy their time there. However, try not to interfere in your child’s interactions with other children too much—part of developing social skills is trial and error.
Take your child to public places for outdoor play
Another great way to get your child to be more comfortable interacting with others is to take them to a public place to play. For instance, going to the park with a few sand-building materials can be a great way to invite other children to play with your child in the sandbox. Or you could go to the park to play basketball and invite others nearby to join.
Talk about your child’s social interactions
Reflecting on your child’s social interactions together helps them to process their feelings about others and themselves. It also allows for some experiential learning where you can role play with your child or enact scenarios for asking others to play with them or apologizing for hurting someone’s feelings. When you talk about this with your kids, it makes social interactions seem less scary and threatening. It also gets them used to asking for what they need nicely, or understanding other people’s experiences and perspectives.
Our approach with shy children
Here at Great Beginnings Child Care and Learning Center, located in Sugar Hill, GA, we know that all children develop at different paces, and their unique personalities affect how they understand the world around them. This includes how they interact with and perceive others. Because a child’s psychosocial development is a gradual process, we encourage parents to ask us any questions they have about how their children are developing in our program. When a shy child enrolls in Great Beginnings Child Care and Learning Center, we pay special attention to their unique qualities and personality so we can adjust to their individual needs and reinforce their strengths. If you’d like more information on how we can help your child in one of our programs, please explore our website or contact us to schedule a walk-through of our facilities. We look forward to meeting you and your amazing child!
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