Socialization--You Got It... raising a child to be "of the world"

Reposted-- The next few days will be blogs that were posted a few years ago. I thought it was important to revisit these for the new subscribers.

Here are some pointers for helping your child with appropriate socialization skills:

·         Take your child on different trips. They are tons of free activities in the city.

·         Expose your child to different cultural activities

·         Take them to a park outside their neighborhood

·         Offer choices( eg) would you like to were your red shirt or the green one

·         Focus on “Do’s” Instead of “Don’ts”-tell children what you want them to do .Toddlers do not understand stop and no. They  will comply when they know what  is expected or appropriate

Discipline is teaching a child what you would like her to do. For example- don’t say to the  child  don’t touch if she is reaching for another child, say touch gently and demonstrate for the child. The infant will begin to learn that there are different touches. Introduce the following   words   soft, slowly and carefully.

·         You should praise infants/toddlers for pro-social behaviors: You should praise children for good behaviors and try not to let anti-social behaviors be the best way to get attention. When you praise tell the child what you like. You can do this with a hug, a smile, or words.

Praise builds self-esteem and as their self-esteem grows so will their self-control. You  will  have a positive feeling regarding your efforts to socialize and discipline the children  in a positive way. Limits should be guided based on the development of the child.

 Many parents do not set limits and guidelines for their infants and toddlers.

 Limits are guidelines or rules. They are usually specific it explains your expectations for the child. For example you may say there should be no eating or drinking on the couch. This is a basic rule that will guide the child and she will understand your expectation. 

You should explain the limit and what the consequences   will be, the couch will get messy. Don’t say that is how my mother was we could not eat on the couch.

 When these children go to a pre-school program adhering to routines   becomes a challenge for the child and their teachers. Teachers spend a lot of time allowing these children to adjust when the child could have been guided to a different stage of development. As a result many of these children fall behind on the developmental scale. Later on many of these children requires special services. You are the root of socialization.

Reminder:  You are preparing your infant/toddler for life outside your home. Many infant/toddler attends a childcare program. The data shows that it is important to have cognitive skills. However, cognitive abilities are not enough. Children must have social skills-that are defined as, attentiveness, perseverance, impulse control, and social ability for school success and later in life. All these skill must be taught during the infant toddler years.

Remember that the roots of   socialization begins in the infant/toddler years.