Socializing comes naturally to everybody but sometimes need to be taught to small babies if they are too shy.
Are you too looking out for tips to make your child more social?
Well, there is nothing to be concerned or feel bad about it. You just need to help your child to overcome his or her shyness and to mingle with kids around.
‘Socializing is an art which sometimes need to be taught’
Shyness has no genetic relation at this age yet some kids are shyer than others. Every child has this cling on phase where he or she just wants to stick to the caregiver.
Yet, they all learn to socialize eventually and faster if some external help is provided which is usually done by the mother.
In this post, you would learn some very basics of how to get your little kiddo get going when it comes to socializing.
10 Tips to develop your child’s Social Skills
These are some very basics of helping your child to socialize:
1. Encourage your child to help you in chores
Usually, toddlers who help their mothers in chores understand the family culture and values better.
While working around the house, teach your child things that will make her more social.
For ex: While chopping vegetables, teach your child that the vegetable vendor sells veggies. Tell her about different vegetables and that the next time when you go to buy vegetables, she can come along and pick her favourite vegetable.
This will make your child more social when you go out for grocery shopping.
2. Be polite
Maintain a positive, healthy atmosphere at home.
Talk to each other politely and respectfully.
This is the best way of teaching your kid to socialize with good manners.
You are also subtly teaching your kid to value relationships and these teachings will stay forever with him.
3. Be affectionate towards your child
It is very important to show love and affection towards your child as this helps him to connect emotionally to the family around.
This also helps in positively nurturing your child’s mind and making him understand the importance of relationships in due course.
Kids who get proper love and affection at home feel more secured in the company of strangers and hence socialize well.
4. Value and encourage
You need to value and encourage your child’s socializing skills every time he or she behaves well in the social gatherings.
This appreciation goes a long way in nurturing your child’s mingling skills and helps him to make bonds faster with friends than otherwise.
5. Be in favor of uniqueness
A child like any other individual loves to be unique and loved for what she is.
Often, mothers end up comparing her child with someone else’s.
This imbibes a negative feeling in the child that he or she is devoid of something that the other child has.
It holds back the confidence building skills of the child as well.
Apparently, if a mother appreciates the uniqueness in the child and supports her in what she chooses to do then it will build in the confidence of presenting herself the way she is in society.
Such kids would love to socialize and would develop as confident jovial beings after growing up.
6. Never induce the feeling of competition
It is not good to teach your child something by drawing in a comparison with some other kid present around.
It is never appreciable to do this though you might end up doing it when you desperately want your child to learn something that you have been working on for too long.
This only inhibits your child in mingling with others as she may develop negative feelings about them due to comparisons.
If you still want to take this approach then you keep it to bare minimum and do it very subtly.
7. Help your child to learn to start
Shy kids need to be taught the ways of introducing themselves socially.
They need to be told the ways in which they should be greeting their friends and the elderly around.
Before going out to meet new people, prepare your child and tell her in advance how to greet.
8. Identify any object on your kid’s clothes
You need to identify a bird or a flower or a button on your child’s clothes and tell her that every time she looks at it you are thinking of her.
Shy kids need a lot of psychological support in coming out of that shyness.
By doing this, she will feel comforted when she is not able to get along.
9. Make her follow the themes of the gatherings
Shy kids will get courage to mingle if they resemble the other kids.
They would love to look like others as that bring in some security in them.
Once, kids have started liking to socialize then you could dress them uniquely or the way you want as they would just not be shy about it anymore.
10. Don’t ignore your child in parties
If you bump into your old friend who you haven’t seen since long, then don’t get so involved that your child feels neglected.
I know it sounds tough, but it is only a matter of few months or a year or so and then you will see everything around pretty much settled.
These small tips are not just tips to help your kids to socialize but are also helpful in nurturing and growing your kids emotionally.
These tips will help you to settle down your kid sooner at the parties and gatherings.
There is no big challenge in getting your kids going socially well. All you need to do is to approach it properly and that will sort it out.