no. 38 - The Social Skills Episode

May 21, 2018

He doesn't get invited to birthday parties. She says nobody wanted to sign her yearbook. He reports sitting alone most days at lunch. She can't tell you a single "good" thing that happened at school. Lessons about getting along as a kid used to be learned playing hide-and-seek in a neighbor's backyard or picking up a basketball game on the street corner. But as today's children spend more time indoors and on screens, many experts say it's hurting their development of social skills. As result, kids find themselves in emotionally tough situations and parents often don't know how to help.

In today's episode, I'm interviewing Nadine Briggs -- accomplished social educator and author of the popular book series "How To Make And Keep Friends." In this episode we discuss:

• how common anxiety and anger are in children and how it relates to their need for control
• why current "social" interactions involving social media don't equate to meaningful social engagement
• how this fact is hurting kids' ability to grow and develop necessary social skills
• why the concept of reciprocity in friendship is a challenge for kids and how they can work to overcome it
• what parents can do to move the conversation to a more productive place by focusing on "positive psychology"

I close out today's show with a brief preview of what I'll be doing with my kids this summer as I take time off from new releases of the podcast and prepare for Season 2. Specifically, I'm discussing the resources -- like printable chore cards -- I found helpful on the Your Modern Family website.

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Until next time,

~Regan

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