Interactive Skills

By learning to use gestures and words, they will start to communicate and interact with others in more complex ways.

Children develop interactive skills from the moment they are born. They quickly start bonding with their parents and siblings by making eye contact and interacting with different pitches and tones of voice.

As they grow and develop, so do their interactive and social skills. By learning to use gestures and words, they will start to communicate and interact with others in more complex ways.

Children learn interpersonal and social skills based on their experiences – by what worked in the past. Young babies may scream and cry to let their parents know they are hungry. As a child gets older, screaming for food becomes less and less acceptable – once some basic language has been learned it becomes more appropriate to ask for food. With time, practice and encouragement, children will learn that communicating using words and sentences, including the word ‘please,’ to ask for food maybe the best way to get what they want.

Four-year-old’s continue to learn what causes certain feelings, and realize that others may react to the same situation in a different way. They are learning to better manage intense emotions with coping strategies like talking about their feelings or drawing a picture. Four-year-olds also show further progress in their social interactions with peers, such as by smoothly joining in a group play situation, showing sympathy to others or coming up with ways to resolve conflicts. Activities that can help in your 4 year old’s Interactive skill development:

• Find an activity for your child and his friends to share. Introduce new toys that do not belong to anyone specific or involve them in an activity such as baking a cake.
• Recognize your child’s social skills. When he is thoughtful or shares his toys, express how proud you are of him.
• Set a good example. Show your child how to be respectful and caring to others during playtime, which will encourage him to do the same.
• Organize a social event for your child and his friends. For example, host a gathering in your home with different activities and music and encourage your child to make sure all the children are involved.