Do you have a withdrawn teenager who doesn’t seem bothered about their peers? Unfortunately, in this modern era, it has become much harder for teens to get sufficient social skills that are important for personal development. The teenage years are the most difficult for parents and teenagers alike. One of the most complex parts of parenting teens is communication problems that occur for different reasons.
These communication issues might sometimes be just a part of typical teenage behavior, but most of them show a lack of social skills. Teens require social skills to intermingle with peers and adults in their daily life.
What Are Social Skills For Teens?
Social skills for teens include everything from carrying a conversation and making eye contact to dealing with an argument and showing empathy for someone else. Social skills are more important to teens than ever.
Social skills for teens help them to;
- Learn to work effectively with teachers and peers
- Make and maintain healthy relationships or friendships
- Take part in extracurricular activities for more solid college applications
- Try out jobs and grow in stable careers
- Form a helpful network of peers at school, club, or elsewhere
- Maintain solid mental health as well as positive self-confidence
- Lead positive change in the community
The most common causes of teen antisocial behavior are lack of parental care, not being counseled in schools, media influence, peer influence, ineffective school administration, and broken homes.
Being attentive to how your teen socializes with others will give you a better idea of guiding them toward a healthy social life.
How can Teens Become More Social? What Parents Should Do.
Children are not born with social skills. It’s something they need to be taught. To promote social and emotional development, parents should do several things. Below are tested ways to improve social skills in teens.
Engage In Teen’s Interests
Finding your teen’s interest will help you get a community they can engage with. It is one of the critical factors for exploring activities within their interests. When your teen feels passionate about an activity, it’s much easier for them to explore and enjoy others engaged in the same thing.
It can be joining a club they’re interested in, a favorite sport, or playing a favorite instrument. This is the initial step in building social skills. Your teen will also be around like-minded teens whom they will possibly feel more comfortable with.
Even though it’s essential to be capable of socializing with those of different interests, starting with teens who like similar things is the best way of building social skills quickly.
Discuss with your teen about different interests they might have and then take action. For example, you can assist them in community clubs or events related to their interest. Starting like this will familiarize your teen with a community of peers with like-minded interests, which can be very helpful in building social skills.
You can also encourage them to order for themselves at cafeterias. This teaches them to interact with other people in a social setting.
Practice Role Playing
Role-playing is an excellent way for teens to practice social skills actively. Putting them in unique scenarios tailored to their personal life can significantly aid their social development.
Your teen can pretend to be the person they aren’t getting along with or having trouble talking to. So, you will get an idea of what that person is like or how your teen sees this person.
Then change roles to see how your teen will do when pretending to interact with that particular person. Finally, develop ways your teen can interact more effectively with the person. Remember to include body language, like eye contact and smiling, when advising your teen.
Continue role-playing until your teen can keep a conversation going and feel comfortable and confident when approaching other teens.
Teach Them Empathy
Empathy is a very vital tool for a teen dealing with social problems. Teach your teen that every single person sees the world in a completely different way. As a result, they will understand how to become more accepting and tolerant of others and overcome potential social conflicts they might face.
A teen with a good sense of empathy for others is more likely to be more social and form stronger bonds. You can present your teen with diverse situations and gauge their response to how somebody else may feel in that situation.
Keep Communication Open
One of the easiest ways to know someone is by talking with them openly. Discussing your teen about their life, interests, and peers can help build basic social skills.
Being attentive to how they act when having a conversation and listening to what they say may make them desire to have further conversations with others.
On the other hand, when a teen becomes anxious and their conversation pauses, they might become more withdrawn and have a challenge in future social situations.
Encourage your teen to take the things they have learned from your conversations and apply them to conversations with peers. Being respectful, asking questions, and genuinely seeming interested are all things that can help your teen succeed in future social situations.
Encourage them to take whatever they’ve learned from the conversations and use that knowledge in their social situations. Asking questions, being respectful, and showing genuine interest will help them succeed in social situations regardless of how they might be.
Teach Them to Ask Open and Smart Questions When Socializing With Others
Communicating effectively is one way to build social skills in your teen. Whether they’re introverts or extroverts, teaching them how to ask open and smart questions can enhance their confidence and build good relations with others.
Teach them how to ask questions without necessarily seeming invasive, as this can put off some people. Remember, negative responses from others may affect your teen’s confidence, so ensure the communication skills you teach them include ways to manage conversations even when they get out of hand.
Your teen will learn best if you act as an example. In short, when interacting with them, ask open and smart questions to evaluate their responses and offer advice when necessary. Your teenager most definitely follows your ways as a parent, so be consistent.
Know Your Teen’s Limits
Children are naturally different. Some teens are more social than others. A shy and introverted teen shouldn’t be expected to interact similarly to a naturally outgoing teen.
Some teens feel comfortable in big groups, while others interact with their peers easier when in smaller settings. It’s also vital to understand a teen’s time limits. For example, younger teens and those with special needs might feel comfortable socializing for an hour or two.
Teaching Social Skills; What You Need To Know
Below are important things to note when teaching social skills to your teen.
It’s Vital
Friendships and social interactions are critical factors in developing your teen’s self-esteem. When teaching your teen social skills, try to break concepts down into small bits. Reward them with a treat for every achievement.
It’s A Lengthy Process
Social skills require continuous enhancement as your teen gets older. But, since they don’t come naturally, they might require a slow approach. So it’s healthy to practice patience when helping your teen learn things.
It’s Not That Easy
It can be challenging to instill skills in a teen. They might be at a phase in life where they socially distance themselves. However, you can teach social skills when they’re relaxed at home. In the long run, you will have helped them come closer to virtual or physical interaction.
Teens Are Different.
Teens with social trouble exhibit them differently. This also depends on their age. They might:
- Talk too much
- Be a poor listener
- Talk about something they weren’t supposed to
- Withdraw when interacting with friends
- Not wait for their time to talk
These challenges can have negative impacts on your teen’s life. They can face challenges interacting with peers. It can also be challenging to relate with family members, teachers, and the community.
It’s All About Timing
Recognize teachable moments that will improve your teen. Unfortunately, some social skills don’t come that easy. For example, it requires a lot of patience to teach your teen that they should be confident in the face of a bully or keep quiet during a disagreement.
Benefits Of Teaching Social Skills
More social teens have better chances of success in life. In addition, more social skills help your teen have an easier time while growing as an adult and navigating their profession.
Social skills are linked to emotional well-being, job success, and independence. Teaching your child these skills will allow them to interact with others more effectively and have greater emotional ability.
Your teen will start taking on adaptive social skills that will make it easier for them to analyze results, solve problems, and respond to social scenarios the way they should.
Strong social skills help your teen get along and make friends easily. They also become mentally healthy since they always have the support of their peers even when you’re not around.
Parenting Tip: Assess Whether There Is An Underlying Problem
Before anything else, first, assess if there is any underlying problem. Typically, some teenagers prefer staying home to being out with other people or peers. This is very normal as long as they’re happy at home and appear okay with not socializing. There is no need to worry.
However, there could be underlying problems if they appear to lack social skills, appear unable to react to social situations, or seem more withdrawn or aloof when meeting new people.
There is also the possibility of your teen being bullied at school. If there is an underlying issue, seeing a counselor might be beneficial.
There might be nothing wrong, and it can all be a developmental phase, but it’s good to cover all the ‘sources’! For example, some teenagers are unsociable and struggle with social skills, while others aren’t interested in socializing.
Latest Post:
- Smart Passive Income Ideas for Teens to Boost Your Monthly Allowance!
- These 25 Fullmetal Alchemist Tattoo Ideas Will Inspire You!
- Why Teenage Pregnancy is a Problem? Answers and Solutions
- 26 Must-Have Mortal Kombat Accessories to Finish Your Collection!
- An Expert Guide To Promoting Healthy Social Media Use Among Teenagers
- How Can Teens Become More Social - October 27, 2022
- How do you emotionally connect with a teenager? - October 27, 2022
- How to Teach Social Behavior Modification to My Autistic Teen - October 24, 2022