YOUR child is unique – everything about them is unique. They are unique even from YOU and their siblings. But in today’s environment – it is good to know what Social Intelligence is. And know how to live in this environment of Social Intelligence. Social intelligence is learned. Some children are more socially intelligent than other children. But knowing the key elements of social intelligence is a good thing:
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highly-socially intelligent person can carry on conversations with a wide variety of people and is tactful and appropriate in what they say. If they are in a crowd they can “work the room” as they say.
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Knowing of social roles, rules, and scripts. Learning how to play various social roles; if YOUR child is playing baseball – they have social intelligence with that group, and YOUR child may also be in Choir at school – and they also have social intelligence with that group.
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Listening skills. socially intelligent persons are great listeners. The other children will have the feeling of connecting with them.
Take YOUR child shopping and have them watch others that are around YOU.
YOUR child is always going to be moving around groups of other children. And they need social intelligence skills to be able to do that from early school years into adulthood. It takes confidence and good judgment to move from the baseball group and playing a ball to being in the choir with the singers.
I have 1 son who is very socially intelligent and fits the criteria for highly-social intelligence. My other son is completely the opposite and is very unsocially-intelligence. And does not mingle or fit into groups at all. one is 42 and one is 54 – completely opposite as far as social intelligence. And growing up they were pretty much the same but as they moved into adulthood it was different for them. Did I see that the one son was not socially intelligent as he was growing up. He got along with his classmates, did all kinds of activities with the neighbor children but into adulthood – his parents went through a divorce and he was away at college and became a very private person who does not socialize well into his 50s.
It is much better to be socially intelligent as YOU are growing and on into adulthood because each of us is going to have to work with other people, and we learn these as we grow from early childhood.
But, as the parent, make it YOUR number 1 priority that when YOUR child is home. And in the house so that they learn these important skills that the TV is only limited and that you are conversing with your child and letting them have the chance to be socially intelligent at school and in any community group that they take part in.
Social Intelligence – and why it matters
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