This is Dr. Anthony Kane with the Complete Connection Parenting Program with another parenting tip for you today. Today I want to discuss, how to help your child develops better social skills.
Now many children with ADHD or Oppositional Defiant Disorder or other behavioral problems or learning disorders have trouble with social skills, meaning they have trouble with friends, trouble keeping friends, they behave inappropriately in situations and there is a very good reasons for this.
Children with these learning problems or behavioral problems very often have trouble globalizing what they have learned from other places. What that means is this. Generally speaking, a child learns how to behave properly, he learns by observing around him what other people do and then applying what he learns in new situations.
Now children with ADHD or ODD or learning disorders have trouble taking what happens in one situation and applying it to a new situation. They have trouble globalizing what they learned. So what you as a parent have to do is teach them how to do that. What that means is you prepare them ahead of time for new social situations.
Let's say, for instance, your child has trouble with friends. So what you would do is you would have him invite a friend over and you prepare him before hand how he should behave with a friend. He should offer something to eat or drink. He should prepare what toys he wants to share and you would prepare him how you behave with a friend properly. You don't just say, play nicely because he does not know what that means. You teach him in very very detailed way, you prepare him before hand.
You want to teach him manners. Let's say he is going out to a restaurant. You let him, let him order for himself and say, please to the waiter and thank you to the waiter and coach him beforehand on how to handle it. Remember you say this, you say that, you say please, you say thank you and you smile, you make eye contact with the person.
What you are doing basically is teaching your child every situation individually how to handle situations socially. In that way, he will learn how to develop better social skills.
Again, these children, there is nothing wrong with them. Nothing nothing, they are not bad people. I mean nothing wrong wit them and that they are doing anything wrong. They just have not learned how to take what they learned in one situation and apply it to a new situation and that's where you as a parent come in. You must teach them how to apply, how to behave in new situations.
Again, this is Dr. Anthony Kane from the Complete Connection Parenting Program. If you like more parenting tips like this, please go to our website at ccparenting.com and sign for the free newsletter.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services