66 Important Social Skills for Kids (Printable PDF)

What social skills will my kid need to develop?

There are few parents or educators that have not explored at some point in time questions related to social skills for kids.

We wonder how we can help our kids with social skills.

We fear they may be struggling to make friends.

We get disappointed when they don’t address their elders respectfully.

And for those of us with kids with special needs, lack of social skills is a reality that we need to work on every day.

In today’s post, you will find a comprehensive checklist of social skills for kids that may give you ideas of areas you may need to develop or work on.

You will also be able to download a social skills printable PDF (poster size)  at the end of the post.

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What are Social Skills?

Social skills are those skills we use every day to communicate and interact in society, both verbally and non-verbally.

Why are Social Skills Important for Kids?

Social interaction is a key component of human learning.

Children learn about norms and acceptable behaviors through their social interaction with parents, teachers, and, later in life, peers.

Good social skills will help kids successfully interact in social situations, build positive relationships and have a better self-image.

Examples of Social Skills

The list of social skills that will help us succeed in social situations is long.

Different skills are interwoven to facilitate more complex ones.

Let’s take as an example the skill “Being able to start and maintain conversations”

If we wish to train that skill in a kid or an adult, we will also have to train several different skills like:

• Making good eye contact
• Respecting personal space
• Reading facial expressions
• Using open-ended questions
• Active listening
• Empathy

Understanding Social Skills for Children

This post will capture a selection of more than 60 very important social skills that may help our kids (or us adults!) interact successfully in social situations.

Before we move into the checklist itself, let me explain how I have organized these sets of skills, to help you assimilate the enormous amount of information you will find in the social skills checklist.

You will find them organized in the following relevant sections:

1. 1. COMMUNICATION
      VERBAL COMMUNICATION
      Verbal communication is the use of sounds to express yourself.
      There are different types of verbal communication like interpersonal communication, communication in groups and public speaking.
      NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
      Non-verbal communication may be as important as verbal communication. Social success may rely on occasions on non-verbal messages.
      Non-verbal communication may:
      -replace verbal communication in some situations
      -complement, modify or contradict what we say in our verbal communication.
      Non-verbal skills are divided into:
      -body language (eye contact, posture, facial expression, personal appearance)
      -paralanguage (voice tone, voice volume, voice inflection)
   2. LISTENING
      Listening skills are essential for effective social communication.
      Have you ever been in a situation in which you are so focused on sharing your own views that you miss out on what is going on around you?
      Or have you ever told your kids that hearing you is not the same as listening to you?
   3. FEELINGS & EMOTIONS
      Being able to identify, label, and express their own emotions and others’ emotions is an important part of kids’ social and emotional development.
   4. PARTICIPATING IN GROUPS  & SPEAKING UP FOR THEMSELVES
      Have you ever looked at a kid and thought, he/she is good in one-on-one interactions, but he/she is lost in a group situation.
      Groups have their own social rules.
      Being part of groups, our kids also need to learn to speak for themselves, show respect, kindness but be able to stand their ground.
      More on the topic: Assertiveness for Kids
   5. PROBLEM-SOLVING
      Problem-solving is a lot more than an academic skill. Maths is probably the first thing that comes to mind when most people think about problem-solving. Problem-solving in life and in the social context is a key skill.

Checklist of Social Skills for Kids

(FREE Social Skills for Kids Poster download at the end of this post!!!)

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

VERBAL COMMUNICATION

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Introducing yourself
            2. Starting a conversation
            3. Maintaining a conversation
            4. Giving a compliment
            5. Accepting a compliment
            6. Learning how to finish a conversation
            7. Learning how to speak in public
            8. Learning how to address different people (a peer, a teacher, the principal, a stranger)

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

1. 1. 1. 1. 9. Using the appropriate tone of voice
            10. Using an appropriate volume of voice
            11. Making eye contact
            12. Learning about facial expression
            13. Using gestures to convey information
            14. Respecting personal space
            15. Use of touch / Touching others
            16. Learning about body posture
            17. Learning to read body language
            18. Understanding personal appearance and “decoding” it

LISTENING SKILLS

1. 1. 1. 1. 19. Learning to listen with complete attention
            20. Teaching active listening
            21. Problem-solving in a social /group context
            22. Learning to negotiate

FEELINGS & EMOTIONS

1. 1. 1. 1. 23. Identifying emotions
            24. Labeling emotions
            25. Expressing emotions
            26. Learning to express strong feelings like anger appropriately 

PARTICIPATING IN GROUPS

1. 1. 1. 1. 27. Joining a group
            28. Meeting new people
            29. Asking questions during conversations
            30. Learning to share
            31. Learning to cooperate
            32. Taking turns
            33. Not interrupting while others speak
            34. Following rules
            35. Accepting diversity
            36. Being patient
            37. Being assertive
            38. Accepting other people’s opinion
            39. Coping with criticism
            40. Providing feedback to other people’s opinions
            41. Learning about empathy
            42. Using good manners
            43. Asking for permission

TAKING CARE OF ONESELF & OTHERS / SPEAKING  UP FOR YOURSELF

1. 1. 1. 1. 44. Learning to ask for help when needed
            45. Helping your friends when they need help
            46. Showing kindness to others
            47. Showing interest in others
            48. Understanding how others feel about the way you act
            49. Learning the meaning of friendship
            50. Showing respect
            51. Apologizing
            52. Learning to forgive
            53. Learning about bullying and how to avoid it
            54. Learning to express your opinions assertively
            55. Learning to say no
            56. Learning to apologize
            57. Problem-solving in a social /group context
            58. Learning to negotiate
            59. Knowing what you can and can’t share about yourself with others

PROBLEM-SOLVING

1. 1. 1. 1. 60. Learning to identify problems and describe them
            61. Generating solutions /alternatives
            62. Predicting consequences for those alternatives
            63. Choosing the alternative that best solves the problem
            64. Taking action to solve your problems
            65. Learning to compromise
            66. Understanding behaviors that can lead to problems

Other Social Skills Resources in this Blog

• Social Skills ACTIVITIES for kids
• Social Skills Games for Kids
• Assertive Communication Worsheets
• I-Statements Worksheets
• Conversation Starters
• Roll the Question Dice Activity
• Friendship Activities for Kids
• Empathy Activities for Kids
• Conflict Resolution Activities for Kids
• Learn how to read anger signs

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