Social Skill Class Details – # T473
Social Skills for Children
Children with better social skills have a significant advantage in life. They not only experience the rewards of positive relationships, but they do better in school, have a better self-image, and in general, are much more resilient as they face life’s inevitable challenges.
Communicating
Effective communication, the foundation of social success, consists of many distinct skills. Children will learn to communicate who they are to others and learn the skills that are so
important in forming friendships. Children understand and express what makes them unique. As children learn to convey their interests, their values, and even their problems, they increase their self-acceptance and self-confidence.
Non-Verbal Communication
Nonverbal skills are divided into two main areas: body language and paralanguage.
Body language consists of gestures, eye contact, posture, facial expression, an awareness of physical distance (referred to as proxemics), and even physical appearance. Paralanguage consists of everything about the way children communicate orally, except for their actual words. It includes voice tone, voice volume, pitch, pace etc.
Children learn to be aware of the nonverbal messages they send others and to read the emotional meaning behind the messages they receive.
Being Part of a Group
Children will learn a variety of skills that can help them be accepted by groups, and even become leaders.
Expressing Your Feelings
The ability to express feelings is also an important factor in a child’s emotional development. Children will learn to express their feelings and also control them. Emotional and social skills learned in childhood form the foundation for developing good relationships in later life.
Caring about Yourself and Others
Caring and kindness are important values in our culture, and they are virtues that form a child’s moral development. Children are guided to experience the positive feelings that go along with behaviours that reflect a concern for others and self.
Problem Solving
Skill in social situations has relatively little to do with a child’s intellectual development. It develops from experience in social problem solving and adult encouragement toward self-reliance. Here, children are guided in finding alternative solutions, evaluating solutions, thinking before they act, and evaluating their choices— cognitively-based skills that can all be learned with practice.
Listening Skills
Developing active listening skills
Standing Up for Yourself
Children learn to assert their rights inappropriate ways. The ability to be assertive in positive and respectful ways is a skill that will have tremendous developmental significance for every child. Children learn to differentiate assertiveness from aggressiveness.
Managing Conflict
Conflicts are an inevitable part of life, and children’s ability to constructively resolve conflicts can be an important part of their social success. These skills build leadership abilities.
Note: The content above is specific to the Class on Social Skills created by the Teacher ( Class Code # T473 )