7 Tips for Raising a Socially Aware Child

Parenting is tough. There’s no manual that guides parents on how to raise a child right, never mind a socially aware one.

This has become something of a pandemic in our modern world. Children grow up to turn inward and shut themselves off.

Without taking care of this problem, children become socially isolated, anxious, and depressed.

The way to avoid all of that is by following some tips that help you raise socially aware children.

Of course, social awareness doesn’t just extend to being around others. It means your child is equipped emotionally and mentally to handle stress and understand how others think and feel.

You might think this is a tall order for a child, but that’s not true. Research shows the best time to teach empathy and compassion is at a young age, and you'll understand how by the end of this article.

7 tips that help you raise socially aware children:

1. It All Starts With Empathy:

Empathy is the ability to understand others. How does that happen? It happens when you’re aware of others’ emotions and thought processes.

Teaching your child early on will help them make better sense of people in their immediate environment.

It will also help them start understanding their own feelings and emotions. A good way to build empathy in children is to listen to them.

When children see their own parents paying attention to them, it teaches them to do the same when around others. This develops their listening skills, making them more effective in cultivating social relationships.

The next step is to provide more opportunities for your child to build empathy. One way this can happen is by setting high moral expectations and teaching them right from wrong.

Another way is to teach them the importance of not being self-centered. For example, if your child has a habit of interrupting others when they’re speaking, make them aware that this kind of behaviour is bad for both them and the adult/child they’re talking to.

There are endless ways to ingrain empathy into a child’s personality. Make sure you stay on top of that to build their social awareness.

2. Building Strong Bonds:

Continuing with the previous idea of disconnectedness and social isolation, young people seem to have no idea how to build relationships properly anymore.

Technology might be blamed for that, but the shift in parenting methods also doesn’t help at all.

Your child’s social awareness is formed by the people they surround themselves with. At kindergarten, teach them the importance of friendship and how to make friends in a way that doesn’t seem pushy or awkward.

To take things further, begin instilling in your child daily social habits that strengthen bonds even more. For instance, if your child is used to their friends coming over to play with Lego toys, teach them how to start a conversation and end it on a high note.

This will go a long way towards building stronger bonds, which in turn, will enhance your child’s mental well-being and make them more empathetic.

3. Help Them Form a Sense of Self:

Without going into the philosophical meanings behind this one, a sense of self is basically a person’s collection of beliefs, worldviews, and thought patterns.

Each one of these requires a lot of care when we’re talking about developing it in children. This is what we refer to as “identity formation,” and it’s a lifetime journey for everyone.

A child’s identity begins to form when they’re allowed to focus on the things that they’re passionate about. If your child is drawn to music, help them. Encourage them to learn playing an instrument, read to them some poems, and learn why they like this hobby in particular.

The details revealed here will tell you a lot about how your child views their environment, how they think about what’s happening around them, and how you can guide them on the right path.

What’s even more important here is to teach them NOT to copy others. Teach your child individuality and creativity in life, and they’ll grow up to be their authentic, socially aware selves.

4. Don’t Pamper Them:

While the previous tip touched on how important it is to teach your child that they’re unique, you shouldn’t go overboard with that.

Pampering a child means praising them all the time, spoiling them, and giving them no sense of self-responsibility.

Overpraise leads to egotism, which erodes empathy. This is something you should always keep in mind.

Congratulate your child and indulge them in small doses. It’s totally okay to make them feel valued after, for example, earning a high mark in a class.

However, it shouldn’t be blown out of proportion, or they might sidetrack and fall into laziness. Your praise in terms of what words to say or what gifts to give should be carefully calibrated.

5. Teach Them Accountability:

This one is also key. Accountability means your child understands right from wrong and knows when they have to make up for mistakes they made.

This tip is a major part of teaching maturity and responsibility to children. For example, you can start by giving your child small tasks they’re able to do well.

One such task includes making their bed. Right away, you’ll notice whether your child complies with your order or makes up an excuse.

Simple tasks such as that soon extend to real-world responsibilities when children grow up, making them more effective members of society and socially aware.

6. Nurture Their Curiosity:

Curious children make for great adults. Teaching your child curiosity helps them understand the world around them better.

It’s very clear how useful that is when it comes to building their social awareness. Of course, curiosity isn’t just about reading books and doing maths.

It’s about continuous learning and being open-minded. Parents can raise curious children by encouraging them to ask questions, go the extra mile at school, and learn from others.

7. Set An Example To Follow:

The last tip has to do with you, the parent. If you want your child to grow up more socially aware and in tune with themselves, you need to be those things every day.

Children absorb what happens around them and make connections. If they see you helping others, fighting for a cause, and doing your best as a caretaker, they’ll instinctively mimic that and become like you.

It’s one of the surest and most guaranteed ways to put all of what we’ve discussed so far into practice. If you want your children to be a certain way, be the motivation that drives them to be that way.

In Conclusion:

Raising children who are socially aware, mindful, and in tune with themselves is a lot of hard work.

If it were easy, the world would be a different place today. However, it’s not all doom and gloom.

We discussed various parenting methods and tips you can follow to raise children who are all of those things and more. It all starts with you, the parent, setting a good example and leading the way.

Other than that, stay consistent with your children and give things time. In the future, they’ll grow up more capable, mature, and socially aware.

They’ll look back and thank you for what you did, and you’ll feel better because you did a great job as a parent.