Importance of Social Interaction for Kids
Ask any parent about their little one’s development and they will often talk about language skills, gross motor skills, and physical development. But a child’s ability to interact with their peers, other children and adults around them plays a pivotal role in children’s development.
Social interaction plays a crucial role in a child’s learning and development. Interacting with others has proven to be quite effective in assisting young children in organizing their thoughts, reflecting on their thinking skills and finding gaps in their reasoning. Allowing and encouraging them to have conversations with others can help them have a solid foundation for their social skills as they grow. In this blog, we have compiled a list of reasons why social interaction is important for children in the early stage of their lives. Read on to learn about these benefits!
- Develop Language & Communication Skills
Peer interaction is one of the powerful additions to their communicative toolkit. When young children communicate with others, they learn how to communicate their needs, wants and desires. Encouraging your little ones to have a conversation with others helps them develop language skills, learn how to express their emotions, and hone their thinking and understanding skills. In addition to this, social interaction is also closely linked to a child’s identity, wellbeing and emotional development. (Source: Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, 2016)
- Builds Confidence
The more your child gets used to talking to new people, the more confidence your child builds. Allowing and encouraging your little one to interact with others socially helps them come out of their comfort zone, develops a sense of belonging and helps them build self-esteem. Needless to say, children need friendships throughout their school life to help them feel they are a part of a group and liked by their peers. And this will ultimately boost their confidence to communicate with others and be more outgoing.
However, this does not come naturally to everyone; it requires constant practice. So if you want to raise a socially confident child, one of the best things you can do is meet people a little frequently, take your kid out for picnics or parks where they can get engaged in cooperative play and have conversations with them more often. Doing so will help your child develop their curiosity, ability to ask questions, make connections with other children and communicate with them more confidently.
- Help Kids Resolve Conflicts
There can be several conflicts that may arise and for children to resolve their disputes on their own requires them to be confident, calm and have strong language skills. Social skills play a critical role in stopping children from any hurtful behaviour or language. As they develop social and language skills, young children begin to make strides in their ability to work through disputes, conflicts and make them more self-dependent to solve problems.
Thus, to help your kid grow as a calm and composed kid, it’s important for you as a parent to never escalate your child’s mistakes, rather use a calm, soft voice and maintain eye level with your kid to make them understand their mistake. Doing so will slowly but gradually facilitate your child’s ability to resolve their conflicts independently, without getting harsh or hurtful.
Learn the Ability to Work With Others
Teamwork is one of the most important skills that children must learn as it is used in many different aspects of life. And to help your child develop this skill, you must allow your kid to communicate with others. When your child interacts with their peers while playing, they get to learn how to work independently or as a group. In addition to this, it also helps them communicate their ideas, learn the value of sharing, work effectively with others and understand how to work together to achieve a common goal. They may not realise that they are learning, but the fact is through social interactions, they are developing the skill of working together as a team.
Wrapping it Up
From the above pointers, it is quite clear that social interaction can greatly impact a child’s overall development. A child’s ability to interact with others not only builds confidence but also helps toddlers to learn to speak, read and write new words and successfully navigate the challenges life throws at them and grow as calm, positive, resilient and responsible individuals.
At Beansprouts Preschool, we work hard to provide your little munchkin with the education they need to learn important life skills they will need throughout their life to be successful. To learn more about why Beansprouts is an ideal choice for preschoolers, pay a visit to our campus or check out our website.