Getting along with both children and adults in a group environment is a very important part of helping your child to develop his/her social skills.

• Praise your child when they make good choices for example taking turns or sharing with another child/adult. Be specific with the praise so the child knows what they are being praised for. For example: you have shared your toys really well with your friend well done!
• Ignore any behaviour you do not want to see and praise the behaviour you want to see
• Set basic rules and ensure that you stick to them. For example: in our house we sit at the table to eat our food.
• Setting regular times for your child to go to bed and get up in the morning helps your child to get the rest they need and feel secure
• Consider why your child is misbehaving and respond appropriately. Are they tired are they hungry, bored, wanting your attention or unwell? Remember to keep calm and try not to raise your voice.
• Tantrums can be difficult to manage. Try to distract their attention on to something else to avoid the child having a tantrum. The child can easily be distracted and move on to something else quite quickly. To distract it could be something like, “Wow come and see this out of the window” or “Let’s go and get your lunch”.
• Regular attendance at a toddler group or pre-school will support your child’s social behaviour from an early age.
• Always remember when supporting your child to keep yourself calm and deal with behaviour in the most consistent way, your child will know what to expect and the situation will be resolved easily.
• Children learn from observing others whether children or adults so be sure that you are a positive role model for them

If you feel you need any further information on any of the above issues do not hesitate to contact a member of the Family Team who will be pleased to help.