How to Help Your Child Socialize in School

Some kids are natural social butterflies, while others struggle to make friends and fit in. Social interaction is an important part of a child’s identity and sense of self worth. If you want your child to have a good self esteem, and not be as susceptible to things like peer pressure, it is important to help them socialize. A child who does not fear acceptance will be less likely to do something dumb in order to be accepted. The following are five tips for how to help your child socialize in school:

1. Get them involved in music. When you put your child in a program with other students, where they have to work together, they end up socializing as part of the course. Extra curricular activities are a great way to get your child involved and socializing with other kids. If you spend significant amounts of time with the same group of people, even if it is because you are all part of the same choir, or band, it usually results in some friendships.

2. Get them involved in sports. Sports are one of the best ways to help your child socialize at school. A team is forced into a bond because without it they will not succeed. The people on a team will spend hours of time together practicing, and this leads to a lot of conversation and getting to know one another. This is a great way to help your child feel part of something, and give them the confidence to be more social. If they are not good at traditional sports, consider having them go out for track or cross country, as this is a sport team that does not need to limit the number of participants.

3. Help them be someone other kids want to be around. As annoying as it can be to most adults, the fact remains that kids tend to congregate around the kids who are talented, attractive, well dressed, etc. If you want your child to socialize more easily in school, start by ensuring they are dressed in the latest fashions, and have something to offer other kids, even if it is just a higher social standing by association.

4. Make sure they understand their schoolwork. This way they won’t have distractions. Sometimes kids don’t socialize well at school because they are so stressed about understanding the material that they do not have any other energy to devote to anything else. If you want your child to be able to make friends and socialize, you have to first make sure that they are not doing so at a risk to their academics. Help them at home, and make sure they are in courses that they can succeed at.

5. Give them some practice outside of school. Socializing takes practice. Small children have to learn skills like playing nice, sharing, and the like, and as children age, the tasks don’t get easier. They have to learn to relate, to share experiences, to be kind and to not pass judgment, etc. Practice makes perfect, so let them have friends over, etc.