6 Tips For Building A Positive Social Interaction Capability For Children

JAKARTA - The ability to establish social interactions is important to be taught from an early age in order to foster self-confidence and emotional intelligence that is beneficial for the future and things that need to be done can be started by making friends.

The founder and CEO of the early childhood education institution IKidz, Dhruv Ahuja said that every child has a different process in making friends, some are easy and some are more difficult when forming healthy social relationships.

"Furthermore, this requires an inclusive environment, where each child understands the importance of developing social skills," Dhruv was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

According to him, social skills can help children in building positive social relationships. Dhruv shares a number of tips in growing skills in making friends and social interactions that are positive for children:

Starting early

The development of social interaction skills can be started from an early age. Both parents and teachers can start introducing the development of social interaction skills as an important ability in life. With introduction at an early age, children can be better prepared to face different social experiences over time.

Learn while playing

Children tend to prefer to learn through fun activities compared to a rigid and tiring conventional learning process. It is very important to implement learning activities while playing and group interactions as an effort to teach social skills. Ways that can be tried can be like playing roles, practicing conversations, and through games.

Give a positive example

Parents or teachers can act as positive examples providers to children. Children tend to imitate the behavior of adults around them. Therefore, parents or teachers can exemplify good behavior such as sharing with others, showing empathy, cooperating, or being kind and polite. That way, children can imitate this good behavior and will continue to apply it in their daily lives.

Doing group activities

Working in groups with other children can improve children's social skills as well as academics. Activities such as reading books together in a library or playing together in a playground can increase children's social interaction skills.

In addition, extracurricular activities that suit children's interests can also help children learn to start conversations and master basic skills in sharing, talking, and working together.

Providing education related to emotions

Educating children in expressing their emotions can help in establishing positive social relationships. Teaching about emotional complexity can provide education about the balance between emotional intelligence and intellectual intelligence. That way children can feel more empowered, recognized, and heard so as to encourage the formation of positive social relationships with others.

Actively involving parents, teachers, and caregivers

A strong role among parents, educators, and caregivers is very important in educating and guiding children, including in developing social interaction skills. It is important to note that parents, teachers, and caregivers should only act as guides and not force themselves to decide what is right or wrong for children.