February’s blog topic is all about social relationships. Most of the time, children are with familiar faces and that helps them feel comfortable. School will have lots of new, unfamiliar people and this can create stress for little ones. To help them cope, try a little practice in various different groups. For young toddlers, there may be programs in your area for parents and kids together. Children get to practice meeting new people while still having the security of parents or caregivers. Later, there may be some facilities where older toddlers can go on their own for short periods of time. If children have been at the same daycare since they were very young, they may be quite comfortable. Some time to practice in a new setting may still be helpful. A few possibilities might be a story-time at the library, a community playgroup, a parks and recreation or city program. Coping in groups is part of kindergarten readiness and like many other skills, practice beforehand helps. Does this work for you?

February is a great month for talking about social relationships. For kids of all ages, learning social skills is a big challenge and important for more than just kindergarten readiness. Like all skills, they take practice but playing and imagining make the task much more fun. Here’s a please and thank you game.

Most toddlers understand that we say please and thank you to people.  Today, ask things like chairs, the floor, the sofa, the dishes, even your shoes. For example: “Good morning, shoes. May I please put you on my feet?” Using your best shoe voice answer with a yes. Of course, you’ll need to tell your shoes thank you and have them reply that you’re welcome. Ask the chair if you could please sit down or the floor could you please walk on it. Tell your coat thank you for keeping you warm and the pen thank you for letting you write, etc. Use lots of different sounding voices. Kids think this is funny (so do other adults that may hear you!) and often join in the fun saying please and thank you to their clothes and toys. It’s hard for anyone not to giggle when talking to a towel.

This lesson takes no extra time at all, you can do it in any room of the house, there is no cost whatsoever, and best of all, it’s easier for kids to remember than countless reminders.  
Is this game fun for you and your children?