Social competence – to negotiate conflicts, the ability to read emotions, make friends, cooperate with others- is an essential part of a happy life. Cultivating social skills in kids prepares them for a lifetime of healthier interactions in all aspects of life. With a few social skill activities, we can help kids learn social skills easily.
Moreover, the current lockdown phase is a golden opportunity to make kids learn a few such life-essential skills. During the Coronavirus outbreak, parents can educate important life skills to their kids. So, here we bring a few activities and games that can develop your kids’ social skills.
There are many evidence-based games and exercises that can help build kids’ social skills. Let’s check out such games and socialization activities.
Social Skill Activities For Toddlers To Teens
These games for socialization can easily cultivate social skills in kids. Here we share social skill activities for every stage of childhood.
The Charades For Teens
In this game, a player picks a piece of paper from a box and reads what is written there – a phrase representing a situation (like “climbing monkey”) or naming any film, song, or TV show.
Then the player tries to convey this phrase to his or her unknowing team-mates through pantomime. With signs, gestures, and non-verbal communication, he will try to explain the song or TV show.
- This social skill activity switches kids’ brains into “mind-reading” mode and develops the non-verbal communication.
- Recently, due to the excessive usage of devices, teens are losing active social interactions. Overactive virtual lives can affect kids’ social development profoundly.
- That’s why parents are using the Bit Guardian Parental Control globally. Parents can restrict, protect, and monitor the kid’s virtual life with this app. It also offers brilliant screen-time and real-life features.
- Screen Time Control Features
- Location Tracking And Geo-Fencing
- App Block And App Install Block
- Panic Alert and SOS Button
- Anti-Theft Feature
Devil’s Advocate: Socialization Game For School-Going Kids
In this game, you can give any random topic to kids such as – Do you think nutritious food is important for the body? or should kids use smartphones during the studies?
Raise a debate dividing kids into two parts. Kids will support or argue the topic based on their understanding.
- This game will make kids learn teamwork, self-control, and the ability to understand another person’s perceptions.
- It also instills the ability to work together with others to discover the true facts and how to be a fair-minded.
Best Social Skill Activity For Preschoolers: Cooperative Construction
Make kids create something with the help of legos or blocks. Cooperative construction can educate many basic social skills. Preschoolers may develop more emotional self-restraint when they participate in collective games.
- They can learn how to communicate, negotiate, and coordinate.
- Also, this social activity is helpful to educate the importance of teamwork and collective performance.
The Name Game For Toddlers
Young kids tend to seek someone’s attention, even before they start speaking. At this age, they feel connected when someone speaks their names. Parents need to pick up non-verbal clues in the case of infants and toddlers.
With a group of toddlers, you can form a circle and give a ball to one of them. Now ask the kid to name someone in the circle and roll the ball to him or her.
- Kids can develop focus and attention skills with this social skill activity.
Why Social Skills Are Important?
Instilling social skills at a very young age is very beneficial for kids. It sets the right base to grow the social skills in the upcoming year. Be a gentle parent and educate these skills with great patience.
- Speaking And Communication – Speaking, listening, and responding is an integral part of communication. But speaking and responding at the right time and in the right manner needs a lot of understanding of social skills.
- Active Listening And Understanding – One of the most important yet mostly, ignorant parts of communication is listening. It takes years of experience in developing a skill that lets us listen patiently and understand the other person’s approach. Kids can start learning it at an early age with the right set of socialization games and social skill activities.
- Forming And Cultivating Relationships – Without developing social skills you can not develop satisfying and long-lasting relationships. Activities for social skills can help kids develop a few qualities like trust, empathy, honesty, and forgiveness which are essential to forming durable relations.
Conclusion
These social skill activities can easily inculcate life-essential skills in kids. But no one can achieve it over-night. There is nothing like practice. Kids need to get their first-hand experience by playing and participating in such games frequently.
