Fostering Socialization in Young Children

Sometimes there are tears, sometimes just plain stubbornness, but in either case, we are talking about a child who has still not developed social skills.

This causes many problems for parents, but it is actually the child who is at a great loss. Without socialization, they can’t form healthy relationships with others, which is necessary in each stage of life. There is also the great problem of a child being rejected because of their lack of social skills, which can really affect the way they are brought up and formed as individuals. That is why we have to foster socialization from the earliest stage.

Social Milestones

As children go through various phases of social development, they experience different levels of the need to spend time with others. While infants and very young children may be perfectly happy on their own, a bit older ones need the company of peers. That’s the time when they start learning about sharing, taking turns and that is rarely a smooth ride. So, organizing playdates and introducing your child to other children at this stage is vital if you want them to develop the right interpersonal skills.

Choosing the Right Environment

Another key element that greatly contributes to the development of social skills in children is the choice of the right environment in which your child will be spending several hours each working day. You want to find a program that is equally focused on education and socialization and most modern educational institutions for young children offer both. For example, the immersion program at Mulberry House caters to the needs of children aged 0-12, divided into three groups and the children become fluent and literate in Mandarin, while learning to live alongside peers. Such programs are becoming increasingly popular due to the fact that they offer so much more than a simple day-care service.

Social-Emotional Development

It is early childhood that sees specific tasks related to social development. That’s the time when children learn to respond to others and influence each other’s behaviour. They also develop the sense of belonging to a group and take on values, beliefs, and behaviours of other group members. The crucial thing is to start developing these skills and senses as soon as possible, since they will be heavily relied on later in life. Socialization is also closely related to the issue of discipline, i.e. how children are disciplined, how they respond to this discipline and how they develop independent behaviour.

Role of Family

Just like all families are different, the role of the family has been constantly changing. Also, the expectations of individual members are no longer the same as they were a few decades ago. Needless to say, the fact that there are more single-parent families now than ever has also had a great impact on the development of children. Namely, children raised by one parent are often brought up in greater poverty, both financial and social, than those living in a functional family with both parents. Such disadvantages may have a serious impact on the development of a child.

Consistency is vital.

When guiding children to a higher level of socialization, parents, teachers and family members need to show consistency. If a certain behaviour is frowned upon one day, it shouldn’t be ignored the next. We must not let our mood at a particular moment lead to a different attitude to upbringing. Children will experiment with all types of undesirable behaviour to see what the boundaries are and if the feedback they get is not consistent, they’ll be confused and unlikely to accept the right social norms.

Socialization of the child determines who the adult will relate to in life later on. The expectation of the society will change and only those who are used to working with others will be able to respond to them in the appropriate way. However, this is only possible if the skills are developed from the earliest age.