How to Make Your Child More Social

Two little girls playing together

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 25% of high school students have reported increasingly poor mental and emotional health. In addition to that, 20% of parents with children aged 5-12 report that their children’s mental condition seems to have worsened.

Some contributing factors may include staying all day, overexposure to negative news, and lack of social interaction with other kids indoors. Here are some ways in which you can encourage your child to be more social.

Start With the Basics

Encouraging your child to be more social starts with the basics; you need to teach them the fundamental skills required for socialization. These include being polite, greeting others in a friendly manner, establishing eye contact, and learning to communicate effectively. Once your kid can grasp these basics, making friends and socialization will be a piece of cake. You can help them by reenacting some scenarios or doing various conversational exercises to help them get over their initial shyness.

Kids playing jenga together

Arrange Virtual Playdates

If you’re worried about your child’s health and safety because of the pandemic, then virtual playdates are a great alternative to hanging out physically. They can chat with each other, talk about their day or play online games together on the computer.

Some other fun activities include showing each other their toys or pets, telling each other jokes or asking riddles, painting and playing with play dough, etc. They can also partake in various age-appropriate online activities as well including games like charades or Pictionary.

Ask if They can Meet Physically

Face-to-face interaction is often beneficial for children after increasingly long periods spent isolated in their homes. You can contact your child’s classmates’ parents living nearby and ask if they would be open to the idea of their child spending the day with yours. It’s a good idea if the kids meet indoors in a safe and clean space instead of public spaces. Parents should also make sure that all COVID guidelines are being followed by the children and all family members in the vicinity. They can watch a movie, play games, and even do their homework together.

If you’re looking for an online private school for your child that encourages not just learning but also their growth, then you’re at the right place.

Ideal School Elementary emphasizes fostering social interaction and the formation of multi-cultural friendships among students. They are an online, bilingual school for children from kindergarten to grade 6. They provide online classes in two languages: English and Spanish.

Find out more about Ideal School’s vision, their education, and their online learning programs here.

Eric Franzen

Eric Franzen

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