Let’s be honest. Even as full-grown adults, we all struggle with keeping up appearances. Stopping yourself from rolling your eyes, swearing under your breath or trying to escape hangouts with work friends, none of us have the perfect social skills.

It can be a real struggle, so imagine having that kind of pressure when you are a little baby and unaware of what appropriate social behavior really means. A lot of children go through the phase where they are unable to make friends or share toys without throwing a tantrum.

So, if your 3-year-old is having a hard time socializing, there are a lot of ways to help them improve and teach them the importance of social interactions.

Let’s take a look at how social skills help children in both early and adult years and how parents can play their part!

There’s Nothing Like a Little Role Playing

You can teach your child the most fundamental social skills through role playing activities. Let’s take a neighbor or a relative with whom your child doesn’t get along. Ask them to pretend to be this person and listen to what they say.

Is there something peculiar they don’t like about this person? How they portray this person in the role-playing exercise can help you get a clear idea of what the problem is. Your child may start shouting or be aggressive when playing this character and from there you can use a clear strategy to change their behavior.

Talk to them about the right tone, or effective way of speaking. You can also reverse the roles for better practice, however, keep the exercise short and don’t tire them out.

Use Interactive Learning for Clarity

It’s easy to build emotional intelligence in children through interactive earning exercise. Learning to read emotions and then respond in an empathetic way is half the struggle. Story time, picture books, cartoons and even online learning are highly beneficial for firsthand experience.

If your child doesn’t like to share their treats or toys with their friends, TV, videos and picture books can be a tremendous help. Soon your child will pick up on social cues that help them improve their interaction with friends, adults and even strangers.

Enroll Them in a Daycare or Preschool

One of the biggest hurdles in children learning social cues is the lack of social interaction. With just two or three people around, it’s no surprise that your child doesn’t understand what cooperation means or how to better respect an authority figure.

Preschool and kindergarten offer them more exposure where they can learn non-verbal cues, active listening, clear communication, group work, conflict-resolution and basic manners, among many other skills.

The Montessori methods implemented at Montessori School of San Marcos enable children to develop advanced social and emotional behaviors, through academics, play activities and community learning.

We offer preschool, daycare and infant care programs for children aged 8 weeks up to 6 years old. Talk to us here to learn more about our philosophy and teaching methods