social skills 123
Children learn social skills in steps
Like all kinds of development, children learn social skills in steps. To
develop social skills, a child needs to become aware of other people’s
feelings. And she needs to learn how to share and cooperate with other
people.
At first a child plays alongside other children. This
means she enjoys being near
them as she plays, but she
does not actually play with
them.
Then she learns to play
with others. She learns to
share toys and play games where everyone
must cooperate.
As children get older, they need to
understand rules and be able to control
their behavior.
Even though Callam wants a
sweet, he has learned not to grab it
out of another child’s hand.
At home
Children first learn
social skills by watching
how parents and family
members behave with
each other. Children copy
what others do and what
they say as they interact
with each other.
Please have
a little soup,
Haseeb.
Can I have
some too,
please!
Me
next?
Playing with other children
As they play, children learn to follow
directions, cooperate, take turns, and share.
Play helps young children understand their
own emotions, feel proud of what they can
do, and develop a sense of who they are.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)