Children's Social Development Amid Covid
I was forced to write this piece after Savannah had her first baby party/picnic on May 15, 2021. Her cousin turned 6 months and this playdate made me realized how important our kids social skills are to their development, from learning to share to honing their language skills. They are missing out on so many opportunities to play and enjoy their social life.
"Children are not getting the cognitive and social stimulation that they would normally get outside of their home." This is a very factual statement, especially if the child is growing up in a home without any siblings or family members of the same age group or thereabout. But how can this be fixed seeing that we are in a pandemic?
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Science says our kids need to be social. Being social helps our kids to be more vocal, it teaches them how to be kind, how to be loving to each other. How do you teach a child to be social when they are supposed to be standing 6 ft apart of each other or to not touch anything that belongs to someone else? A bit hard, aint it?
It was the first time being sociable with kids we have never met. The Kids were just staring at each other for some minutes. Some kids held tightly unto their mothers. Wow, the social connection just dropped. As for mine, she's very friendly as I take her everywhere. But then, It was so obvious at the little picnic party how much these children just wanted to be free and how much they wanted to just get out. The kids were just running all over the place, chasing each other, laughing, eating, playing with toys and trust me, mamas were tired. I don't know where these kids get so much energy, but boy, they needed that fun.
It was also a cry party. Kids didn't want to share their toys with other kids but can you blame them? They have nobody at home to share with and in addition, if they don't know you, why should they share their toys with you? Are you seeing where I am getting at?
Social interactions are how you learn to cooperate and how you learn about trust, loyalty and support. It helps our kids to be expressive and understand their own emotions. Children need to learn to share, how to be fair, know what is right or wrong and they can learn by being with other children. It is a bit difficult as parents because as for me, I allow her to watch what she wanna watch-, I allow her to play with whatever she wanna play with, whereas, when interacting with other kids, they will learn that they won't always get their way.
If it is safe, and if you're okay with it, let your child interact with other kids now and again. Help them to build their social skills. Time with other children is a crucial piece of growing up.
I encourage my friends to give my daughter playmates because after that picnic party, I am not promising anybody I'm having anymore kids. It is a task at hand. With that said, Teachers, Daycare workers, I lift my hands to you.
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