Every parent wants to give their child the best leg up that they can. When it comes to development of the child social interaction and self-confidence in social settings is a cornerstone to the development of the child. No parent wants their child to be the shy kid in class that is always missing out on fun activities and good opportunities because they are too afraid to interact socially.

This article is written to help you facilitate and improve your child’s social interactions typically in a classroom, club or playgroup setting.

One of the first things to look at is how much of an active role are you playing in facilitating interactions? Are you doing all that you can to plan and implement group games and activities that your child can do with other children? You want to make sure that you plan events that involve sharing, children taking turns and other social interactions.

If you are actively involved in planning for a classroom is a good idea to work on creating learning centers within that classroom that will support small group play. Children at work in small groups tend to be less intimidated by the group and those kids that are typically reluctant to speak out in large groups will participate in a smaller group setting. If you are not involved in the classroom and you are planning an event such as a birthday party and you want your shy child to be more involved, plan smaller group activities within the larger group of the birthday party. If you have 20 kids attending the party set aside time where the kids break out into groups of three or four to do an activity.

Whenever possible try to implement the buddy system, this is breaking those groups down to the smallest amount. Activities can do children can do in pairs short self-confidence and encourage essential one-on-one interaction. When you are planning events using the buddy system you will want to make sure that children who would typically have trouble finding a partner don’t feel left out during this process. The buddy system is a great way to get shy kids to participate in games and activities because they are doing so in pairs.

Try to find out what the children have in common. It is always a great idea to draw attention to any mutual interests among the children you will want to make comments on the things that children have in common and draw attention to them during social play. For example if three of the boys like Star Wars you can put them in a team called the Star Wars team or the light sabers. Try and find things that they all have in common that will essentially prime the pump for conversation and social interaction.

Don’t assume that a child does not want to participate simply because they don’t volunteer for an activity. If a child is on the outside feel free to actively invite them into the group often times many kids are just waiting for an invitation to join the group and don’t have the self-confidence to jump in on their own but have a strong desire to participate.

Author Bio: Doing a vintage paint by number with your child can help improve their social interaction with you.

Category: Parenting
Keywords: child behavior, child psychology, well adjusted child, child interaction