The 5 Types of Social Emotional Learning Skills
Learning about shapes, words and how to speak are important skills for every child to develop. They have everything to do with how your child will get along in the world. However, it’s important to realize there are other markers of development that may not be as visible.
Social emotional learning skills can have a big impact on your child’s well-being. Skills like self-awareness and emotional management are necessary to get by successfully in the world.
By learning what these skills are all about, you can help your child succeed at their relationship with others.
1. Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is an important skill for every person to develop. This skill is about having an understanding of one’s feelings and emotions and learning about their strengths and challenges. Once a child understands these areas about themselves, they can better know what they need. To develop this skill, coaching sessions where children learn to label their feelings and identify their values are helpful.
2. Self-Management
Once a child has developed awareness of their emotions and actions, they can move on to self-management. This involves a child’s ability to regulate the emotions and actions they experience. It may be as simple as taking deep breaths or counting to ten before reacting in a situation. Pairing a child with a mentor can be a great way for them to learn from someone else’s experience.
3. Responsible Decision Making
Making good decisions is one of the most important skills a child can learn. For this, a child should be aware of their goals and social norms in the context of the larger world. Understanding responsible decision making is important since there can be both short and long-term consequences. A pros and cons list can be a great way for your child to consider the implications of their choices.
4. Social Awareness
Social awareness takes the concept of self-awareness one step further. This skill is about showing empathy for others and understanding their perspective in a variety of situations. It also involves understanding the perspective of different genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Watching movies or reading books about different types of people can be a great way to develop this skill.
5. Relationship Skills
Building relationships with others is an important part of every child’s development. To do this, things like listening, communicating effectively and considering another person’s emotions are key. It’s also important to understand what appropriate social behaviors are in a variety of situations. Fortunately, relationship skills develop naturally out in the world. Children can participate in team sports, games, and classroom projects to boost these skills.
Conclusion
Social emotional learning skills are an important part of your child’s development. And there are many ways to develop these skills in the context of day-to-day life. With some helpful coaching and time with others, your child will be on the way to more mindful development!
If your child is beginning to develop social skills, you may want to try our Chat Chains learning game. It can help to open the doors of communication so building healthy relationships is a little bit easier!
References
Positive Action. The Five Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Core Competencies <+ Teaching Lessons>. https://www.positiveaction.net/blog/sel-competencies
Art in Action. THE 5 KEY COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL). https://artinaction.org/the-5-key-components-of-social-emotional-learning-sel/
Fundamentals of SEL https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/
