10 effortless ways to ensure social development for preschoolers

social development for preschoolers

A key role played by parents in our initial development

The most precious blessing for a human being is the birth of their baby. And this is the time when work of the parents begin. As parents we need to focus on the overall development of our child in every aspect including emotional, social, intellectual, etc.

Parents lay the foundation of development during the initial stage of the child’s life. The most challenging task out of the overall development process is the social development for preschoolers.  

Primary personality trait of being an extrovert or an introvert starts developing in the initial stage of infancy, followed by other phases of development.

Symptoms of uncommon social development for preschoolers

  • The child is not able to mix up at all with the other children.
  • The child is entirely dependent on the caregivers for everything.
  • The child has extreme issues and reactions in separating from parents.
  • The child is fearful and lazy and does not want to try things that other children of his age are indulged in.
  • The child is reluctant to go out and is anti-social. 

If you find any of the above symptoms in your child, contact a counselor who can suggest best possible approach for your child’s development.

Factors affecting the social development for preschoolers

There are several factors which influence the social development of preschoolers, which are as follows

Physical Environment

It is one of the most important factors affecting the social development of a child. If the environment is decisive and friendly, a child can socialize in a better way. So raising a toddler or a preschooler in a safe and warm environment is important for its growth.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.

Based on your child’s interest, design your kids playroom, here are 7 stunning ideas

Physical Health

If a child is healthy and fit, it gets more comfortable for him to socialize with other people. An unhealthy child remains involved with his health issues and does not focus on developing social skills. We should all aim to leave healthy and focus majorly on diet.

Social development for preschoolers

The atmosphere at home

A cooperative and loving atmosphere at home encourages the child to be more social as compared to an atmosphere which is too restrictive or toxic for a child to thrive. Aggressive and toxic atmosphere discourages a child connecting with other kids around.

At young age children should have an opportunity to learn in a positive environment, to enjoy the learning process, feel comfortable and content within it.

The behavior of parents and other family members

A preschooler learns from the behavior of his parents and other family members. If the parents are friendly and sociable, the child automatically tries to be like them. If the parents are arrogant and rude, the child gets influenced by them. This is one of the major factors that affect social development for preschoolers.

I am not much of a people person and my son was inclining towards the same. As soon as i started stepping out and connecting with people, my son automatically started greeting people and connecting with his age group. As a mother, I obviously had to make things work.

Moral Values

Although, I believe that it is too early to emphasize on moral values since your child is growing and has a lot to learn but gradually this needs to come into picture.

I was playing in the society park with my son and he picked a ball lying in the park to play. After few minutes, a old man came and i was lectured about how I wasn’t teaching my child right things and how a 2 year should behave. I dint say much to him but felt that a 2 year old is too young to understand right and wrong.

We should aim to instill basic moral values in our children but this wont happen overnight. moral values develop themselves. Once these values are inherited, he will respect and greet people properly. Important aspect is to introduce your child to a beautiful world.

There is a lot of love around but very few know how to love

Importance of socialization

It is important for parents to understand that social development is important. Most parents focus on studies, sports, body growth etc while this aspect is left behind. Few child face issues when they enter a formal school and are unable to connect with their fellow students. Parents should understand the importance of socialization and this helps a child to me more keen to interact with people

Mindset

While we want to protect our children and provide them a safe environment, raising a child in an open mindset is important. Feeding your children with complains and negative thoughts ( especially that you are dealing with) will harm your child’s thought process. It is important to have open mindset and go with the flow.

There could be issues between adults but passing these to children would hamper their social growth.

10 ways to ensure social development for preschoolers

While parents aim to ensure overall development for their children, we fail to understand that a child’s first go to person is his or her parents. Since the day they enter the world, they look for warmth and affection from their parents.

As parents, it is important for us to provide a sense of security to the child and set the path for their initial development.

Social development for preschoolers refers to the interaction of your child with other things around. It would not only humans but plats, animals or even a rock for that matter. It means the ability to form trustworthy and secure relationships.

There is a lot of confusion about social development and emotional development. Emotional development refers to the expression and regulation of emotions. It refers to the way you feel about yourself, others, and the whole world.

Social development for preschoolers can be ensured in the following ways –

  • Bestow your love and affection upon your child. Show them your love by playing with them, cuddling them and hugging them. It is important to connect with them and show them you care.
  • Encourage your child to try out different new things. Experimenting is great way to learn.
  • Express your true feelings towards the child. Share your failures and how you were able to cope with them. There is no person who would not fail but important is bounce back.
  • You should allow your child to play with other children of the same age. This way, you can make your child-friendly and sociable. 
  • Following a routine is always great. Encourage your child to follow a routine. This would help them be more focused and organized.
  • Acknowledge and don’t judge your child’s feelings. Let the child talk about how he/she is feeling. Make your child comfortable and talk calmly and softly with the child. Try to be empathetic towards them.
  • Your child should know that you are happy with his/her accomplishments.
  • Social development for preschooler helps him/ her to learn manners and etiquette by interacting with other kids and learning from their behavior. Children can learn best by the method of imitation.
  • Self-sufficiency is the primary goal of the preschooler phase of development.
  • Social opportunities help preschoolers to develop self-confidence before entering the new world of school life. They should have a sense of socialization before their schooling starts.

The social development for preschoolers is very important since it makes your child confident and self sufficient.

Benefits of social development of a preschooler

  • Self-awareness and self-management 
  • Teamwork and cooperation
  • Relationship management skills
  • Discipline and respect for elders
  • Learning to effectively interact with others

Raise your child with beautiful heart

I strongly believe that there is too much hate in this world and we should aim to raise our next generation with beautiful hearts. Parents like me have to aim at overall transformation of our child. A child is not only a valuable asset for you but your child has ability to change the world in a better way. Do something that you couldn’t do!! This doesn’t mean that he needs to do something big and you need to put your child in pressure.

A more socially developed child can communicate and influence much better and hopefully bring out a change that is needed. A change that could spread love and awareness.

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social development for preschoolers
Social development for preschoolers

10 effortless ways to ensure social development for preschoolers
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22 thoughts on “10 effortless ways to ensure social development for preschoolers

  1. I agree with all these. If parents have these at the back of their minds and make the effort to consider these tips, it would definitely go a long way. Particularly, teaching them moral and godly values and well as teaching them to be compassionate.

  2. As a preschool teacher, I agree with all the points you mention above because I believe in the same things. When I teach kids, I want them to be independent, positive, always trying, and well-rounded. But I also want them to be respectful and loving not only to adults but also their friends and classmates. I want them to be part of a community in my class but also be themselves as a community is not about having the same personalities but different ones working together.

  3. This is very insightful, Hope i came across this post few years back.. My brother boy lack social skills, even though he is changing but not as much as i would have loved to.. Still going to be very helpful, educative post like this will always be referred to at one point or another.

  4. I really needed to read this! My 4 year old has been home with me almost exclusively and I worry about how he will adjust to school. This gives me a lot to think about.

  5. I have a small baby at home and it is always a concern of mine that she will fall behind or miss out on socializing once she’s older and in school. This makes it easier to keep an eye on it

  6. That is why pre-school teachers really have to be very sensitive on these signs. Never knew it was this complicated (I meant not that simply as it looks- teaching)

    1. Great words of advice. My child is 4. But graduated herself into kindergarten in September … She is homeschooled but given a lot of opp. To interact with other children. She also tries a lot of nstuff. The most recent was she disks her first major rock scramble!

  7. Such a great advice for parents about social development for preschoolers. Social development always starts at home on how parents treat their kids and to build relationship.

  8. This is so helpful as my boys are just over the preschool stage. I’ll admit there are a few things I could work on a bit as a parent, but overall my husband and I do most of this with both of our boys. I think it goes beyond preschool age, though, and can be carried throughout their school years.

  9. ohhh!!! This is an area that I have no clue about! I can’t thank you enough for bringing this to light, thank you so much. Social development is unfortunately still a taboo topic and that is so wrong.

  10. This is really insightful. As a preschool teacher, I truly believe that both the school and the family members are responsible for the social development of the preschoolers. Everyone must work hand in hand to raise the child with a beautiful heart.

  11. I agree that preschoolers should be encouraged to socialize with kids their own age. It’s so important that they develop social skills with their peer group at that age!

  12. These are great tips for making sure your preschooler is properly socialized. It’s important to watch for signs of issues as a parent.

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