While cognitive development makes up a crucial aspect of children’s holistic growth, so does social development. Surely, making sure your child knows their ABC’s and 123’s is important but social skills also play a huge part in your child’s success later in life. Without solid social skills, children often struggle to adapt to the changes in their surroundings — this is especially relevant in the 21st century, a time when everything around us is rapidly changing and continuously evolving.
Since the 21st century classroom encourages learners to be participative and interactive in the learning process, social skills such as communicating, problem solving and cooperating with others become all the more crucial for academic success. Experts say that “children with developed social emotional skills exhibit better classroom behaviour, which allows them to be an active part of the learning experience” (Horan, 2020). In other words, social skills are a pretty big deal.
Is My Child Socially Confident?
Now, as a parent, you’re probably starting to wonder whether your child is socially competent. It can be hard to tell your child’s social competence at a very young age because young children tend to ‘cling’ to their parents during the earliest stages of their lives. This is also why many young children experience what is known as ‘separation anxiety’ when they first enter preschool. They throw tantrums, they refuse to enter the classroom and more. This might be mistaken for social incompetence but the truth of the matter is, separation anxiety is part and parcel of childhood; therefore, it should not be perceived as an indicator of a child’s social development.
How do I build social confidence within my child?
Social skills help children to effectively interact and communicate with others. This makes social skills very useful for learning. Building your child’s social confidence should not be complicated — as a matter of fact, simply choosing the right preschool education for your child already guarantees they reach their social development milestones. Preschool is where children start developing socially independent skills such as forming new friendships, initiating conversations and negotiating.
Here are ways how preschool learning teach social skills to your child:
- Nurture language skills
In Malaysia, the classroom becomes an amalgamation of cultures. It is where students of different backgrounds learn together. Nowadays, many preschools such as Q-dees offer multi-language programmes such as English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin! Picking up a second or even third language helps to expand children’s social abilities and allow them to engage better with friends of different cultural backgrounds.
- Encourage exploration
Children are born naturally curious. Learning experiences that encourage exploration and experimentation such as scientific discovery promote social interaction among young children. Preschools enrich children’s social development by giving them the freedom to explore through their curiosity and wonder in a more structured manner.
- Emphasize self-expression
Studies show that one’s self-esteem affects one’s social competence. Achieving social development milestones for your child is not just about engaging with others, it is also about achieving self-confidence. Through artistic activities such as painting and crafting, children will learn to take pride in their skills and talent. This cultivates a strong sense of self-worth. Preschool programmes such as the Q-dees Creative Development programme aims to teach children the creative ways that they can express themselves such as through art, music and dance!
- Foster social character traits
Children with a social personality type often exhibit certain social character traits such as responsible, reliable and supportive. These children are more likely to initiate conversations with others, make friends on their own, share toys with their friends and enjoy working in groups. Preschool learning helps children to develop these social character traits through character building activities. As such, the Q-dees Physical and Social Development programme nurtures social character traits such as confidence, compassion and care among young children.
Truly, social skills are crucial to have at a young age. Raise your child to be a social butterfly at Q-dees — the BEST preschool brand in Malaysia! Learn more about how our programmes can help your child to be more socially confident here:
