by Kathryn Day

Created on: October 07, 2009   Last Updated: October 11, 2009

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Learning social skills in an essential part of early childhood development. By teaching and reinforcing appropriate social interactions at an early age, we enable our children to navigate difficult social situations in early childhood and in later life.

There are two key ways to help preschool children develop appropriate social skills.

1) By correcting inappropriate interactions and reinforcing positive interactions in day to day life. 2) By setting up scenarios during playtime which establish set skills and encourage the use of those skills.

When we develop games or activities that encourage participation in learning social skills, we are providing children with an opportunity to practice those skills. In addition, we are giving our children a specific event to reference in order to determine the correct behavior in typical daily situations.

Listed below are five important social skills for a preschool child to develop, and creative ideas for practicing those skills during play.

Introductions/Greetings

Young children are often unsure how to approach a child they've never met before, or how to join a group of children already at play. A great way to teach this concept is by using dolls or puppets. Children often find a doll or puppet approachable, especially if it is accompanied by a familiar adult. You can use the doll/puppet to model appropriate behavior, such as making an introduction. (Hi, my name is baby doll. What's yours?) You can also encourage the child to practice this skill by having them try to engage a doll/puppet who is acting shy. Reinforce this skill by encouraging your child to introduce himself/herself to a new child at school or on the playground.

Please/Thank You/Excuse Me

The uses of "please", "thank you" and "excuse me" are common courtesies in adult life and are excellent tools for teaching young children gratitude. Children will most certainly have more positive interactions with others by incorporating these phrases in their daily routines. A play grocery store can be a great way to promote these manners. Encourage the children to use "please," "thank you" and "excuse me" in conversations between the customer and the cashier.

For example:

Customer: Excuse me, will you please ring up these toys for me?

Cashier: Yes, sir. Would you like your items in a bag?

Customer: Yes, please.

Cashier: Thank you. Please come again!

By offering the children variations in this script during their play, you are reinforcing

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