How to prepare your child socially for school

How to Prepare your Child Socially for School by Fi Morrison at mummamorrison.com

There is more to school than just reading, writing and arithmetic.

In fact, the way a child socially navigates the schooling environment is of equal – if not (controversially) more important – value to how well they handle the schoolwork. Some people might assume that children will inherently learn or develop social skills. This is just not the case.

Just like any other skill, we need to teach children how to act socially and how to respond in certain situations. This is why I’d strongly recommend that children attend preschool. At least for one day each week. This helps children become accustomed to playing and interacting with their peers as well as their educators.

While there are a variety of social skills for children to learn – which grow in complexity over time – there are some basic skills you can reinforce with your children at home.

How to Prepare your Child Socially for School

Listening

This may seem like an obvious, inherent skill. However listening is something that teachers are constantly trying to reinforce with children in the classroom (and can take up a LOT of time!).

Help your child become accustomed to listening when instructed to such as introducing games where listening is critical, such as Chinese Whispers. Also reinforce the different elements of listening, such as looking at the person talking.

Taking Turns

We all know that sharing isn’t a child’s strong suit at the best of times. However if you’re able to work on turn-taking with your child at home this will greatly help them at school.

There is a need to share resources, wait when playing games, and share the teacher’s time. Play games or activities with your child that emphasises taking turns. For example pass-the-parcel or painting where they need to wait to borrow a brush. Have a conversation with your child during these activities to reinforce taking turns and waiting. This skill is something that will take time and practice.

Resilience

This is another tricky ‘skill’ that is not the strong suit of children. We all know that children whinge and cry if they don’t get their way or if something upsets them.

Resilience is a foundational skill for children to develop as it helps them deal with adversity and difficult situations. By starting from a young age, we are preparing our children not only for school, but for the future as well. Positive affirmations and self-talk is a great way to help children feel encouraged and valued.

Also help your child to recognise their feelings so they can learn to communicate them to others (seeking help). Use flash cards with different emotions on them and discuss what the emotion is, as well as when they might feel this way. For example, a child might identify that they feel angry when someone snatches a pen from them. Discuss with your child what they might do to solve this problem (tell the teacher). This will be very basic before going to school as children are still too young to fully grasp this concept, but again discussing it from a young age can help them develop these skills.

Interacting with Peers

At school, children will spend all of their time in the company of their peers. It is crucial that they are exposed to playing with children in various contexts so they learn how to interact, and in turn listen and share.

Opportunities for interaction with other children such as involvement in playgroups or preschool is a good start for developing these skills. While this may be difficult for some families – or some parents might have hesitations about putting their children into a preschool – it is important for children to have exposure to other children. If you’re unsure of opportunities for this, check out local playgroups for preschoolers, local family events, or even children’s groups at churches or fitness centres.

By helping your child develop these social skills, they will be better equipped to navigate the social aspects of formal education.

Any tips on how to prepare your child socially for school?