Developing and Enhancing a Child’s Social Skills

Helping your child develop social skills and encouraging interaction with others isn’t just about having them surrounded by classmates at school or friends at a sports club. It involves many ideas that live in your child’s mind and the many social traits they learn and experience within their family — which, over time, become part of their personal style.

Supporting your child’s social communication skills is easier if parents focus on it from the early years, as social communication is one of the most important skills a child needs to build healthy relationships, develop self-confidence, and enhance their ability to interact.

In this report, Dr. Wael AbdelAzim, Professor of Child Psychiatry and Mental Health, presents dozens of ways to develop your child’s social communication skills.

When Does a Child Become Socially Stronger?

A happy, understanding family environment:

By helping the child identify, regulate, and control their emotions—being able to express feelings, recognize when they are angry or happy. This is done by giving the child opportunities to speak and express themselves. Reading stories with the child also helps them describe their emotions towards the characters and events. Parents should be good role models because children learn through observation and imitation, not by commands or moral lectures.

Parents’ Role in Developing Social Skills

• Encourage social interaction: Playing with other children teaches interaction, turn-taking, cooperation, and emotional expression.

• Help your child make friends: Provide safe opportunities for your child to meet other children.

• Allow appropriate social engagement: Let your child interact at their own comfortable pace, guiding them gently.

• Involve your child in hosting guests: This teaches social skills in environments outside the home.

• Promote group games: Encourage participation in group activities to build cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution skills.

• Teach negotiation skills: Help your child learn to negotiate and find compromises when conflicts arise.

• Participate in diverse activities: Join your child in sports, arts, or music activities to develop varied social skills.

• Teach how to ask questions: Show your child how to ask questions in conversations to show interest.

• Practice active listening: Teach your child to listen attentively and focus on what others say.

• Express emotions appropriately: Help your child express feelings healthily and use appropriate words.

• Talk about emotions: Discuss feelings with your child through stories, movies, and plays.

• Encourage empathy: Teach your child to empathize with and help others in different situations.

Building Self-Confidence

• Praise your child’s efforts and achievements, big or small.

• Give your child opportunities to make decisions and take responsibility.

• Be a positive role model in social skills like good communication and empathy.

• Interact with others positively and politely.

• Read stories about positive social interactions.

• Use role-playing games to teach social skills.

• Follow and encourage your child’s interests.

• Encourage joining clubs or sports teams aligned with their interests.

• Observe your child’s social behavior in different situations.

• Correct social mistakes gently.

Steps to Support Your Child

• Encourage participation in volunteer activities to learn cooperation and empathy.

• Provide chances for play with peers without interference to develop conflict resolution and cooperation independently.

• Teach listening skills by focusing on the speaker and avoiding interruptions.

• Encourage your child to understand others’ feelings and thoughts through careful listening and empathy.

• Reduce screen time, especially during important conversations.

• Teach and encourage eye contact during speaking and listening.

• Teach emotional language and vocabulary for accurate emotional expression.

• Model appropriate emotional expression for your child.

• Teach strategies for managing negative emotions, like deep breathing or talking about feelings.

• Encourage cooperation and participation.

• Limit screen use to foster real-life social skills.

• Teach and reinforce good manners and polite expressions like “thank you” and “sorry.”

• Teach your child to ask open-ended questions that encourage conversations.

• Teach empathy as a valuable social skill to help your child connect positively with others.

• Support and encourage your child’s interests, such as sports or music, to enhance communication.

Forming Friendships According to Age

• Under 2 years: Children tend to share with others naturally.

• Between 3 and 6 years: Children often act selfishly about sharing.

• At 7 years: Children become more aware of fairness and readiness to share.

• At 8 or 9 years: Don’t force sharing but recognize and praise sharing when it happens and explain how it makes others feel.

• At 10 years: Children develop active listening skills, meaning truly understanding what others say, a key part of effective communication and learning.

• Early adolescence: Exploration skills grow, children become more curious about their environment, which is vital for physical, emotional, and social growth.

Encouraging Independence and Exploration

Start reading books with your child, pause occasionally to ask, “What do you remember about the story so far?” Help them recount any missed details. This builds independence and confidence in their environment and the people around them. Support exploration by providing sensory-stimulating toys and new experiences.