How can I encourage companionship in my child?

Affective relationships at home are crucial to strengthen skills in children, so if your intention is to contribute to their personal development you must instill the mix of values that involves companionship.

It is proper for children to support each other spontaneously, however, for many, making friends can become a real challenge, hence parents should be concerned about fostering good skills in them.

Lack of confidence is a frequent obstacle to their social interaction and therefore, behaviors that help teach your child to overcome their fears and make friends should be encouraged.

Team spirit strengthens the self-esteem of the little ones and is the key to proper social development in family, school and complementary activities; so creating opportunities for interaction will motivate your little one to respect, solidarity, tolerance and empathy.

How to promote companionship?

Start by explaining to your child the meaning of friendship and encourage their desire to interact with their peers; highlight the benefits and values of developing connections with others. Tell them stories - kids love stories! If your child is one of them, tell them their favorite stories and even make up stories that encourage sharing and laughter.

Ask your child if they have ever been excluded and how they felt; whatever their answer, talk to them at that time about the importance of being respectful and kind to people.

Teaching them to understand how to interact in a socially acceptable way is also an essential part of instituting good behavior, as well as promoting inclusion.

Very importantly, help your little one cultivate friendships not only at school but also outside. Having him share frequently with the children of his friends is a good start to teaching him to be inclusive, tolerant and kind. Do chores at home with your loved one that involve teamwork, showing them that there is strength in unity.

Activities that will help you encourage teamwork

At this point you will have already tried everything to get your child to share with his peers, but now you will have the opportunity to have fun in the process as well.

Role Play

Your role will be to be a reporter who will have the mission of interviewing your favorite person about one of his or her hobbies; then you will exchange characters. This way you'll be teaching them how to ask questions and at the same time engaging them in a fun conversation.

Find a complementary activity

Talk to your child about a range of group activities he or she can choose to do: sports, drama, music, academic clubs, scouts and even charitable activities. After-school activities are an excellent incentive to make new friends, improve confidence and leadership - these types of activities will boost your child's self-esteem!

Invite their schoolmates over

An afternoon of pizza with his classmates is a great idea to teach him to take turns (first or last), asking him to wait on the table is a good idea. Give each child a ball of pizza dough and get creative. At the end of the day, ask him what he learned and what he would like to do in another sharing.

Keep in mind that these can be small steps toward creating the solid scaffolding your beloved child needs to develop social skills that will allow him or her to take to situations involving companionship like a fish to water.

Children who develop strong bonds of friendship will feel less stressed, more confident and will undoubtedly perform much better academically as well. So get your skates on and start applying these simple tips!