Socialization

The Pandemic Had a Major Impact on Children's Socialization Skills. Here's How the Early Childhood Education Industry Is Helping Them Bounce Back!

lba-admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 12:22:07 +0000

The Pandemic Had a Major Impact on Children's Socialization Skills. Here's How the Early Childhood Education Industry Is Helping Them Bounce Back!

lba-admin Wed, 07/14/2021 - 08:22

Without the ability to interact with other children, children do not develop some of the essential life skills, such as taking turns, sharing, following a schedule and communicating with others, which are foundational for healthy social development and school readiness.

While children are lower at risk for contracting the COVID-19 virus, the psychological effects of the global pandemic have hit society’s youngest members especially hard. In particular, young children in the formative early years, have been most vulnerable as they are at a critical time of social and intellectual development, according to a 2020 study released by the Canadian Journal of Public Health. As schools closed across the country, many children lost an entire year's worth of social stimulation they would have normally experienced outside their home. Now, parents remain rightfully concerned about how the pandemic may have impacted their children’s long-term social and academic development.

Play and socialization are key components to a child’s early education. Children are naturally social creatures and in many ways, “play” is how they learn essential life skills such as taking turns and regulating emotions. They also stimulate synaptic connections in the early stages of development through the development of conversational skills and emotional expression. Due to the isolation and lack of social interaction over the past year, children have not only fallen behind in this regard, but they may also be hesitant or anxious to return to the in-person classroom as schools and child care centers start to reopen. While parents should work with their pediatrician on any developmental concerns, there are a few tips on how to support your child in their development of social skills.

For example, creating a diligent schedule can go a long way in helping children adjust to new environments. As parents tried to juggle working from home and virtual schooling over the past year, some days children never got out of their pajamas. This lack of structure can have an overall negative impact on a child’s emotional well-being — a proper schedule is proven to eliminate stress, which allows children to better develop healthy social and academic habits.

A great way to ease children back into a social environment is with a hybrid approach where children can attend a program in a small group environment such as a child care on a part-time basis and balance the remaining days at home. Children are resilient and parents are often surprised at how quickly their child adjusts and thrives in a new environment. Through play and with nurturing and positive reinforcement, they will learn to make new friends and seek interactive learning experiences. As children adjust, so can their schedule.

Enrolling in a child care is a great way for children to regain the structure they need to feel secure and the support needed to progress. Choose a center that offers a quality curriculum and the technology to provide peace of mind with online cameras and other communication tools to help ease the transition.

Luckily, the future of a child’s socialization isn’t completely reliant on the parents. Across the board, school districts and supplemental education centers have also been prioritizing the social and emotional health of their students. Some child care centers even incorporate yoga and mindfulness programs into the daily curriculum, for example. During the back to school adjustment period, children may become anxious and early childhood education providers will likely pay more attention to these self-soothing practices moving forward.

In addition to incorporating mindfulness and other calming activities into the curriculum, educators will likely be more focused on encouraging play and interaction through STREAM classes. When children can collaborate with peers in a classroom, it encourages the development of essential life skills, such as taking turns, sharing, and communicating with others.

Looking ahead, elementary schools, supplemental education centers and parents should all understand that most children are going to need more support and may even struggle to meet previously set benchmarks.. The good news is that children are resilient and likely to bounce-back quickly. Hopefully, the COVID-19 crisis has helped educate the general population to recognize that children’s social development is just as important as academics, and that the two are inherently linked. By keeping social and emotional development at the forefront of everyone’s mind, we can help children return to a healthy school routine, reduce anxiety and ensure academic success.

Jennifer Romanoff, MA ECE, is a trainer of early childhood teachers, center administrative teams and owners. A published author of three books on responding to toddler behavior, Jennifer has been teaching and training in the early childhood education field for over 29 years. She has presented nationally both through live sessions and webinars. As VP of Education and Training for Lightbridge Academy, Jennifer also creates trainings to support best practices, excellence in education and the accreditation process. A supervisor series of trainings, developed specifically for center administrative teams and child care owners, as well as a distance learning training module are Jennifer’s current focus, utilizing a production studio, an online learning platform, and virtual classroom capabilities. Jennifer is the proud mom of a 19-year-old daughter Madelin, and two fur babies, Scarlett and Buttercup.

Growing Up Only But Never Lonely

lba-admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 19:50:36 +0000

Growing Up Only But Never Lonely

lba-admin Mon, 04/16/2018 - 15:50

Somehow, society has many of us believing that only children are all spoiled, lonely, and selfish. Common knowledge tells us that only children are at a serious disadvantage when compared with children who have brothers and sisters and their parents are sometimes given similar labels. There is no basis for these social stereotypes and we all know whether you have one child or more, that parenting is a tough job. It’s our parenting style not the number of children we have that influences how an only child, any child for that matter, turns out. So with that in mind, all children are at risk for being spoiled.

“When are you going to have another child?” is the question many parents of ‘onlies’ hear from family, friends and even strangers. After all, how else will their toddler learn to share? How will their preschooler learn to relate to other children? So for many families the answer to, “When are you going to have another child?” is “Never.” Some parents may want more children and are unable to have them, but the majority of families with one child have made a conscious choice in selecting the one-child option. Why are parents choosing to have one child? There are many reasons: couples marrying later in life, women choosing career development before having children, the desire to maintain a certain quality of life, and of course, economic considerations. Children are expensive.

Having only one child is NOT a bad thing, despite the talks of society. Below are some positive points about having only one child.

Intelligence. Only children, like first-borns, generally have been found to score slightly higher on measures of intelligence than younger siblings. Diverging results of intelligence research may be explained by focusing on factors within the family unit that affect intellectual development. Such experiences might include, for example, parents' provision of an "enriched" intellectual environment.
Achievement. As is the case for intelligence, achievement (both academic and other kinds) in only and first-born children appears to be slightly greater than for later-born children. To explain this phenomenon, theorists have considered the specific relationship between parents and children. Presumably, achievement motivation originates in the high standards for mature behavior that parents impose on their only and first-born children.
Affiliation. Some research indicates that only children may be slightly less affiliative than their peers. Specific research findings have shown that only children may belong to fewer organizations, have fewer friends, and lead a less intense social life. However, these investigations have additionally noted that only children have a comparable number of close friends, assume leadership positions in clubs, and feel satisfied and happy with their lives.
Peer Popularity. Research on the popularity of only children also has been mixed. Some findings suggest that, because only and first-born children have no older siblings with whom to interact, they acquire a more autocratic and less cooperative interactive style than do other children.
Self-Esteem. Like peer popularity studies, investigations of self-esteem in the only child have netted mixed results. Different investigations have variously indicated that children in each of three groups (first-borns, last-borns, and only children) possess the highest level of self-esteem. Consistent findings may prove possible if further consideration is given to the types of self-esteem measures used, the age of the subjects, and parental and sibling contributions to the development of self-esteem.

Are There Advantages to Being an Only Child? There are definitely advantages for the parents, only one set of teeth to brush, besides our own, one college savings fund, and an absence of sibling rivalry. That alone, may be the greatest benefit. And only children may have a few advantages as a result of their special status, too, more attention from their parents, their own freedom from sibling rivalry and comparison, and access to more family resources. For only children, we have more time to focus on the general aspects of child development and learning and can give our children that individual attention that makes such a difference. Studies have proven that many only children often do better in life for the same reasons that first-borns do. First-borns have their parents’ individual attention for those important first few years and benefit from greater stimulation. As a result, only children, like first-borns, are often higher achievers later in life. In the case of the only child, this individual attention is available throughout childhood.

Relax, being a confident parent of an ‘only’ makes us question our parenting abilities. Errors in judgment come with the parenting territory. Don't worry about every little thing, we all make mistakes. Unfortunately, those of us with ‘onlies’ tend to think our child's problem stems from his or her singularity. Most times these issues are normal developmental stages and difficulties that any child, whether one or one of many, may experience.

eFamily Playdates

lba-admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 18:02:10 +0000

eFamily Playdates

lba-admin Mon, 04/16/2018 - 14:02

What is a play date? A play date is a preplanned, scheduled opportunity for two or more children to get together and play. Play dates can happen at people’s homes, parks, children’s museums or anywhere children can have a good time and interact with one another. For toddlers and young preschoolers, parents of each child usually attend until the adults and children feel comfortable with one another, become familiar with the location and understand that parental behavior expectations can be very different.

Children need unstructured, relaxed time to spend alone and also with children of the same age. When playing with others, they learn socialization skills like cooperation and attempts at sharing. But most importantly, they should have fun.

If our children are at Lightbridge Academy all week do they really need play dates, too? Children who spend time in preschool or child care have lots of socialization opportunities. Weekend time as a family is a precious commodity that doesn’t need to be compromised by play dates. The number of play dates our children have doesn’t make them more popular or you better parents. Relax; children grow up just fine with or without play dates.

Childhood play dates aren’t as tricky as high school dates, but there are some basic guidelines that can help make the experience more successful for you and your little one.

Choose a location that allows for active play. Locations that require sitting and being quiet like libraries, movie theaters or performing arts locations will be frustrating for the children if their main objective is to play. A home or park is good places to start.
Limit the number of children. The more children who are in a playgroup, the more interaction and the greater chance of squabbling. Older children may want to choose whom to invite.
Schedule an hour or so. Give children adequate time to warm up to each other and enjoy playing, but be aware that after an hour even the children best at sharing can start to tire.
Put away special toys. Before the playmates arrive, let your child chose two or three toys to put away that they would not be required to share.
Establish a sick policy. Parents have different expectations regarding children and illness. If runny noses aren’t welcome, make that clear when you set up the play date.
Let children play at their own pace. Although we may be anxious for our child to play with others, give them time to warm up and accept that young children may choose to play independently.
Give an ample good-bye warning. Give your child a five-minute warning before it’s time to go. You’re more likely to have a smooth transition leaving if they have a chance to finish playing. Give a longer warning if you want to include time for clean up.

As children get older and more familiar with people and places away from home, they’re able to have play dates where we drop them off for a few hours alone. And those are the very best play dates of all, except when it’s time to host the play date at your house.