Toys are a wonderful way to help your child grow, but you may notice that your child likes to take their toy, run off, and play alone for hours. If you are concerned about your child’s social skills or simply want to spend more family time, there are a variety of toys and games that work on the development of social skills -- at all ages! If you are focused on these skills, you will want to think of toys and games in a different light. The best activities for social skills development are those that encourage mastery or a sense of accomplishment. This means games should be just difficult enough to give kids a challenge, but achievable enough for them to get parts right and succeed on their own. Games that find this happy medium will help your child develop all sorts of skills and boost their self-esteem, which does wonders for social skills!
Pretend play
Imaginative play may be something that kids do on their own, once they reach a certain age. Kids are often seen pretending they are superheroes or characters from their favorite TV show. This is great in that it helps encourage creativity, but there are many other situations they can simulate that teach them something about the real world. And with the addition of just one person, pretend play can turn into a great way to teach social skills. Kids can play simple word games like charades or heads up that foster self-expression, imitation, non-verbal communication, and more. This can be played with a few different people to make it more interesting!
Similarly, there are many options that allow your child to assume a different, more thoughtful role and learn along the way. Your child may want to dress up and use a variety of tools around them to really immerse themselves in this new role. Kids may like playing store, chef, gardener, carpenter, and pretend cleaning. Parents can also help kids learn about their health by helping them play doctor or nurse. Another great way to expose young kids to a very practical setting is by playing school. You can be the teacher and tell them what they need to do in class each day (sit down for circle time, pay attention, raise your hand, use your inside voice, put on your listening ears, etc.). This will help prepare them for following directions and playing nicely with other kids when the time comes.
Multiplayer activities
It’s never too early to start with some multiplayer games. While there are some complicated board games, there are also some simple ones that can help your child learn turn-taking, direction-following, judgment, and self-expression. Young kids can participate in simple games, like Jenga and Kerplunk, that only require one rule or motion. As kids get older, they can add some strategy to these games to get better at them, or they can try their hand at games like Uno or bingo that require more attention and some critical thinking. Kids can also work together with others to build a large train track, a town made of legos, or a toy car with lots of parts. This is also a good time to introduce jigsaw puzzles when kids are of the appropriate age.
Competition
An inevitable aspect of using toys and games with people is competition. Some kids who don’t have experience playing with peers or even family members will not deal very well with losing. You can encourage friendly competition by doing relay races, scavenger hunts, or timed trials for activities they already know and love. This is also a good introduction to early sports. You can teach your child about basketball, soccer, bowling, or golf by simply playing with them to see who makes more shots or knocks the most pins down. You may not think this holds much value for young children but it automatically means they will get some instruction from you along the way to help them throw or roll the ball differently and improve their performance. For this reason, sports are a great way to improve kids’ coordination, gross motor skills, judgment, visual perception, and more. This also gets them more used to following instructions, receiving guidance, and asking for help when they need it.
Making things for others
Crafts are a great way to help kids get their hands dirty and have something beautiful to show for it at the end. You can help kids make virtually anything with items you already have around the house. While you may want to keep some of their masterpieces, this is a good way for them to learn about giving, sharing, and receiving. They may want to make a friendship bracelet for the girl in their class or make cards to donate to a local nursing home. This not only teaches kids about giving but it will make them feel good about themselves, further encouraging the sense of reward that we aim for with social skill development!