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.

This year, your 6-year-old becomes more confident and finds pride in showing off his talents. He is also becoming more aware of his own and others’ emotions. By now, your child will enjoy the concept of sharing with friends, although conflicts might still happen frequently. Having set routines are important since they offer stability and security. At this age, children draw emotional stability from their interacting with familiar adults with whom they feel comfortable and secure, particularly during challenging situations. Activities that can help in your 6 year old’s Interactive skill development:

• Act out his favourite story book together. Let him choose which character he would like each of you to be.
• Engage in interactive games such as “Hide and Seek”. Take turns hiding and finding each other.
• Involve him in decorating a homemade cake or cupcakes. Provide him with different colour frosting and edible decorations for him to take part in this activity.
• Before bed time, let your child initiate conversations about his topics of choice. You can turn this into a routine activity you do together every night.