Friendship skills is a term used in early childhood that encompasses social development. Social and emotional development are often grouped, but they are complex and include many different pieces. Both social and emotional skills are essential to how we are able to navigate relationships and connect with others. When they are built successfully, we are able to manage our emotions, build healthy relationships, and feel empathy towards others. Helping children build friendship skills allows us to encourage children to: 

• Recognize if someone is sad and asking if they’re okay.
• Express themselves with friends differently than with their teachers and other adults.
• Understand their thoughts and feelings, and be able to relate to others.

Building Social Skills

Children with strong social skills have a foundation for success. They can make friends and keep them, build their self-esteem and confidence, resolve conflicts with others, and manage stress levels. These skills also allow children to understand the norms of a community and make appropriate decisions. Most importantly, children extend their knowledge to understand their strengths and weaknesses and gain awareness of others and their feelings. 

We can help children develop social-emotional skills by maintaining their safety, emphasizing their feelings, and responding to the emotions they are experiencing. In other words, we can start helping build these skills by being role models. When we are assisting children in building these skills, we can ask open-ended questions and encourage conversations when emotions or conflicts occur. 

Asking questions like “How did that make you feel?” during a conflict can help a child understand their feelings about a situation. Further conversations can include questions like “How do you think that made them feel?”. When children better understand how they feel and how others feel, they can create a social understanding of friendship and how we relate to each other.

It starts early and never ends.

Building social skills starts at birth and continues throughout our lifetime. How we guide children during their growth and development can help them strengthen their overall social-emotional competence. As early childhood providers, we are responsible for enhancing children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development. When children are given the skills needed to be successful, they become stronger, and our communities become richer. 

Need to know more about helping children build friendship skills? Register for Friendship Skills Not Bullying and earn CED hours. Find more professional development for Early Childhood Educators and Directors on ExperienceTraining.org

Kathy Banks, EdD. Early Childhood Education

Kathy Banks, Professional Development Lead for brightwheel, has 36 years of early childhood education experience. She has held various positions, including teacher, director, multi-site director, Head Start director, CCR&R, and QRIS Director. She currently adjuncts at several colleges and universities and continues to support and inspire educators through training and practical strategies. Kathy has her Ed.D. in Early Childhood Education and is a nationally certified Family and Consumer Science Developmental Educator. Her experience and education make her a scholarly expert in child development and the realities and challenges of teaching and directing every day. 

REFERENCES:

Alzahrani, M., Alharbi, M. Alodwani, A. (2019). The effect of social-emotional competence on children academic achievement and behavioral development. Canadian Center for Science and Education. International Education Studies; Vol. 12, No. 12; 2019 ISSN 1913-9020 E-ISSN 1913-9039. doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n12p141.