For many mothers, a child’s awkwardness may come as a concern as it poses a threat to the child’s future relationships and daily activities.
There are, however, methods to counteract against the forces of introversion. This article will provide insights about how mothers can develop a child’s social skills through various activities and techniques.
Copycat or “Mimic Me”
Engaging in an activity that requires your child to copy what you do can be a good method of exposing your child’s emotions, making it easier to address any social shortcomings. Therefore, the
“mimic me”
or copycat activity is bound to bring out the underlying socialite in your child.
This can be done anywhere and is a great way to help teach them how to recognise emotions, which will help them when they are having real conversations. In addition, this activity will develop the child’s ability to read the emotions of other children – whether it be at school; on the playground; or other common social spaces.
Subliminal Reciprocity Activities and Manner Banners
Various studies have shown that the process of reciprocity in familial relationships are likely to produce similar characteristics within children. This goes far beyond basic teachings of saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’. Children learn most from what they observe.
This implies that, a child will be directly affected by the way a couple communicates. In turn, this will determine the way in which the child communicates with peers. Therefore, it is important for parents to establish a shared understanding and agreement about the way in which they communicate in the presence of the child. A child who is exposed to a relationship that consists mainly of profanity and disrespect between the parents, is likely to project similar characteristics and attitudes when faced with relationships at school or in communal areas.
Topic Games
When a conversation happens, there is usually a topic that is being talked about. Thus, the topic game can be a great way to introduce your child to this concept.
You can either sit with your child or have a group conversation that includes numerous children, including your own. For this activity, you are going to go through the alphabet and each participant must think of something that starts with the letter that they have landed on. For ‘A’, someone can say alligator, and then it goes to ‘B’ for balloon and so forth.
This activity is immensely effective in enhancing conversational skills and will be a worthy activity to take time out for, in order to make your child socially comfortable and outspoken.
Bettering Eye Contact with Staring Contests
It is a proven fact that children have troubles with maintaining eye contact, making it difficult to respond appropriately when faced with real-life conversations. Engaging in staring contests with your child is a fun activity that can develop the focus ability.
Moreover, this activity can be combined with conversational activities insofar as competition is concerned. This means, that whoever loses the staring contest must think of a topic to discuss. Once the topic is fully discussed, then the next staring contest can commence.
These are few tips that can enhance the process of developing your child’s conversational and social skills.
Adapted from: Moms and Times of India
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