Let’s start by just hanging back and observing your little ones and try not to create too many ripples in the metaphorical “pool”. Our son’s mom and I are a few more weeks in with this stubbornness and it gets to the point of being unbearable at times, and my ow my the struggles and arguing. We had a few more Dr. appointments and psychiatrist visits and they have us trying a few more practices putting in the works. At this point there is not much more we feel like we can do and it feels like we are hanging on by a thread.
Mom and I have gritted our teeth and started to follow their advice as much as we can because Let’s face it we are having to relearn our lifestyle as well. As you all may know by now if your child has been struggling with his/her skills and getting along with others for a while now it is so deeply embedded within that it will be a heck of a roller coaster ride at this point!! Social skills at this point is the biggest life line so we started trying to find activities that promote social skill training for children.
This is where we found observing our child and making mental notes of the classes he enjoys at school and the teachers he likes and listens to the most. We also pay attention to some little things he does around the house that he enjoys doing. We as parents need to really use their adult perspectives on this because playing on electronics or eating an unhealthy diet is something we should not condone. After all we want our children to grow up healthy and succeed in the majority of the things they try to one day pass on to their own children themselves.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Try to pick a social environment (we found it to be easier if it was a smaller group) so they can interact and see how most children behave and react to certain situations. I would recommend to not jump straight into the strengths but rather focus on some weaknesses that are more on the moderate side of difficulty. If you go full steam ahead in the weakness category the child may get frustrated and quite vs trying to learn other ways to accomplish the tasks. If we focus on the children strengths then they are treading in a comfort zone for them. This may be easy for everyone but face it this won’t teach them to think outside the box and learn in a different way.
Picking Appropriate Activities:
As said before if your child is struggling don’t start them in a difficult activity right out of the gate. Also, try to get them in an activity with children their own age and keep the group small. We found that if our child fails it is less problematic if it is in front of a smaller group and he tends to pick himself up and try again. There is a whole list of activities but here are a few we have tried and are going to try for now.
- Art Classes
We found through listening to our son he loves to draw and color pictures. This is also another wonderful way to become in tune with your youngster because they may draw what they feel even though they don’t know how to say it out loud - Volunteering
We joined a local church group that is big in our community. We register not only him but us to volunteer and this really seems to raise his spirits helping others that may be more in need than himself. He also enjoys it so much that he is almost like a whole new child while helping and we think it is due to him feeling needed instead of being needy. - Outdoor activities
This is a good one for the whole family to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. You can simply grab a fishing pole to do some fishing or just a good old nature walk through the countryside. The exercise you will get along with the fresh air is one of the most relaxing things for a child struggling with any sort of mental health or anger struggles.
In Conclusion:
I hope you all enjoyed some practices we have done to help our child and we hope it offers the same benefits for you all too. We will keep you all updated on our journey with our social skill building for children and please leave any of your ideas or comments below. Please keep in mind to consult your childs physician before beginning any at home regimens for his/her safety. We want to wish you all a very blessed day and wish you all the best on this journey!