In school, at work, in social situations and all through life, working in teams is an important skill to master. Children are put in groups at young ages through playgroups and then as they start school. So how can you begin to reinforce team work and cooperation skills with your child? Here are a few tips that can help your child build these much needed skills.
Play Dates: This is the earliest form of working in a group. It doesn’t take long for children to organize themselves to complete common tasks and to act out roles through play. Children are actually learning group roles and dynamics through play dates.
Outside Play: The playground is one of the first experiences children have with working and interact with others. Once your child goes into the sandbox with other they start interacting, grabbing toys from each other and learning how to interact and work together.
Playing Organized Sports – many sports like soccer start as early as age 4 or 5. It’s truly amazing to see the cooperation and team work start to develop as children score goals through working together. They also learn the importance of winning and losing as a team.
Pretend Play: Acting out elaborate stories and establishing roles isn’t far from the corporate roles grownups play every day. Imaginary play is one of the best ways for children to learn interaction, coping and leadership skills in a safe environment.
Give your child as many opportunities to interact in a group setting and watch them learn and grow.
No comments:
Post a Comment