How to Teach Your Child People Skills
Allow your child to speak for themselves., Teach polite behaviour., Model good people skills., Eat meals together.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Allow your child to speak for themselves.
In many situations adults will speak on behalf of children.
For example, you may order food for your child, or call their friends’ parents to set up a play date.
Kids, however, need an opportunity to practice their people skills.
Try letting your child tackle some of these basic social interactions and you can guide them through the process.
You can also start small and have them work towards taking on more social responsibility.For example, have your child say “excuse me” to a store clerk in order to get their attention and then you can carry on the rest of the conversation.
This will build your child’s confidence without placing pressure on them to engage in an entire conversation with a stranger.
If you have a shy child, you could try creating mock social situations at home and have them practice by interacting with you. -
Step 2: Teach polite behaviour.
If you want your child to develop good people skills, then you will want them to learn how to engage in polite conversation.
This includes developing good listening skills and body language, as well as good conversational skills.
For example, when conversing with others, your child should not monopolize the conversation or interrupt the other person.
They should also engage in a form of give and take when communicating.
For instance, they should ask questions as well as share information about themselves.These types of skills can be developed while communicating within your own home.
For instance, if your child interrupts someone while talking point this out to them and explain why this is rude.
You can also discuss your child’s behaviour following a social interaction.
If, for example, your child was not engaging in polite conversation at a party, you can point this out to them afterwards when you get home.
Explain why their behaviour was impolite and provide them with solutions. , In order to teach your child good people skills, you need to model them yourself.
For instance, if you are constantly on your phone or distracted during conversations with your child or others, then you are not modelling positive social behaviours.
Instead, they will think that it is acceptable to read a text message while in the middle of a conversation.
When you are interacting with people in front of your child, use eye contact, listen carefully, ask questions, and be polite.Try these tips to improve your own social behaviour:
Leave your cell phone or tablet in another room.
Don’t check your email until your kids go to bed at night, or do it out of sight.
Kneel down when talking with your children, so that you can look them in the eye and converse at their level. , Eating dinner together, as a family, is a great way to practice positive social interactions and teach people skills to your children.
This is a perfect opportunity to ask each member of the family to share something about their day.
You can also model good listening skills by asking follow up questions.Make a rule that includes no cell phones, tablets, or games at the dinner table.
This way everyone will focus on the conversation.
Use this opportunity to ask about potential conflicts and come up with solutions. -
Step 3: Model good people skills.
-
Step 4: Eat meals together.
Detailed Guide
In many situations adults will speak on behalf of children.
For example, you may order food for your child, or call their friends’ parents to set up a play date.
Kids, however, need an opportunity to practice their people skills.
Try letting your child tackle some of these basic social interactions and you can guide them through the process.
You can also start small and have them work towards taking on more social responsibility.For example, have your child say “excuse me” to a store clerk in order to get their attention and then you can carry on the rest of the conversation.
This will build your child’s confidence without placing pressure on them to engage in an entire conversation with a stranger.
If you have a shy child, you could try creating mock social situations at home and have them practice by interacting with you.
If you want your child to develop good people skills, then you will want them to learn how to engage in polite conversation.
This includes developing good listening skills and body language, as well as good conversational skills.
For example, when conversing with others, your child should not monopolize the conversation or interrupt the other person.
They should also engage in a form of give and take when communicating.
For instance, they should ask questions as well as share information about themselves.These types of skills can be developed while communicating within your own home.
For instance, if your child interrupts someone while talking point this out to them and explain why this is rude.
You can also discuss your child’s behaviour following a social interaction.
If, for example, your child was not engaging in polite conversation at a party, you can point this out to them afterwards when you get home.
Explain why their behaviour was impolite and provide them with solutions. , In order to teach your child good people skills, you need to model them yourself.
For instance, if you are constantly on your phone or distracted during conversations with your child or others, then you are not modelling positive social behaviours.
Instead, they will think that it is acceptable to read a text message while in the middle of a conversation.
When you are interacting with people in front of your child, use eye contact, listen carefully, ask questions, and be polite.Try these tips to improve your own social behaviour:
Leave your cell phone or tablet in another room.
Don’t check your email until your kids go to bed at night, or do it out of sight.
Kneel down when talking with your children, so that you can look them in the eye and converse at their level. , Eating dinner together, as a family, is a great way to practice positive social interactions and teach people skills to your children.
This is a perfect opportunity to ask each member of the family to share something about their day.
You can also model good listening skills by asking follow up questions.Make a rule that includes no cell phones, tablets, or games at the dinner table.
This way everyone will focus on the conversation.
Use this opportunity to ask about potential conflicts and come up with solutions.
About the Author
Henry Gibson
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: