Social skills are such an important aspect of development that we use all of our lives. Why Will No One Play With Me? came out a few months ago and it is to provide tools in a program for parents to help their children be better at making friends, find acceptance, and to overall then experience a happier childhood by Caroline Maguire who has been helping children of various ages for 15 years professionally.
Growing up, I was noted as being kind of reserved and quiet. I am more of an observer in conversations yet today. I had a great group of friends that I found when I was in middle school that have been part of my life yet today. I know I don’t know all the answers to forming successful friendships and I understand how important they are both short-term and long-term and so I see this book to be very beneficial for parents.
Maguire’s 7 Things Everyone Needs to Know to be Socially Successful:
1. Manage emotions rather than let them manage you. The ability to realize when you are experiencing “big emotions” and adapt, rather than expecting everyone to change for you.
2. Read the room. Scanning the situation and then adjusting your behavior to meet the demands of the situation.
3. Meet people halfway. This could mean introducing yourself, starting a conversation, or answering a question when you’re asked.
4. Understand social cues and unspoken rules and be ready to change your behavior in response to them. This involves reading people’s facial expressions and body language, and being aware of your own.
5. Learn to walk in someone else’s shoes, or see things through their eyes. To understand someone else’s perspective means to understand, to some degree, their motives and reactions. This includes their reactions to you.
6. Be flexible and adaptive. Understand that part of your social role is to compromise, and recognize that at times it’s appropriate to place friendship or the larger group ahead of being right.
7. Know your audience and adapt your communication to be appropriate. You may also need to adapt your tone, stories, and other information you choose to share, depending on the age and interests of those around you.
In-demand parenting expert and former Hallowell Center coach Caroline Maguire has worked with thousands of families dealing with chronic social dilemmas, ranging from shyness to aggression to ADHD, and more. In this groundbreaking book, she shares her decade-in-the-making protocol–The Play Better Plan– to help parents coach children to connect with others and make friends. Children of all ages–truly, from Kindergarten to college-age– will gain the confidence to make friends and get along with others, using tools such as:
*Social Sleuthing: learn to pay attention to social cues
*Post-Play Date Huddles: help kids figure out what to look for in a friendship
*Reflective Listening: improve your child’s relationship with their peers
With compassion and ease, this program gives parents a tangible, easy-to-follow guide for helping kids develop the executive function and social skills they need to thrive.
This book is available on Amazon and other retailers nationwide.
