The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-1 Chapter 8: Developing Social Competence in Young Children

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-2 The Importance of Helping Young Children Develop Social Competence Developmental Trends in Social Growth How do children become socialized? Implications for teaching

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-3 Suggestions for Teaching Appropriate Social Skills Goal I: Help children develop empathy Encourage role playing Help the child understand how the other person feels

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-4 Goal II: Help children learn to be generous, altruistic, and able to share Help children learn to share equipment Help children learn to share the teacher

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-5 Goal III: Help children learn that being kind to other people feels good Helping other people is one way of expressing kindness The presence of children who have exceptional needs presents special opportunities for children to be kind and considerate Not doing something can also be a way of being kind to someone

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-6 Goal IV: Teach children that everyone has rights and that these rights are respected by all Teach children that rules apply to everyone Teach respect for others’ rights by honoring personal privacy

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-7 Goal V: Emphasize the value of cooperation and compromise rather than stress competition Model cooperation and helping behavior Teach the art of compromise Teach children to work together

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-8 Goal VI: Help children discover the pleasures of friendship Facilitate friendliness by using reinforcement to reduce isolated behavior Increase the social skills of friendless or excluded children Pair children together Help children when a friend departs or when they are rejected

The Whole Child, 9e Joanne Hendrick & Patricia Weissman © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8-9 Goal VII: Help children with special needs fit into the life of the group