I’m looking for ways to help kids develop better social skills. Specifically, I’m wondering if using positive reinforcement could be effective for building social awareness in children. Has anyone tried this approach or have any thoughts on how it might work? Any tips or experiences would be really helpful.
I’ve been trying something similar with my 11-year-old. We play a ‘kindness spy’ game where they spot and report nice things others do.
It’s been fun to see them become more aware of social cues and interactions. They get excited to share their observations, and it’s led to some great conversations about empathy and relationships.
It’s not perfect, but it seems to be helping them notice more about how people interact.
My kids liked sticker charts for social skills. They’d get a sticker for sharing or helping others. Worked well for a while. They started noticing more positive interactions at school. Eventually phased it out as they got older. Now we just chat about their day and social stuff.
I’ve been wondering about this too! My 5-year-old is just starting to navigate friendships at school.
I tried a little game where we talk about our day and point out nice things we saw others do. It’s helping my kid notice more.
But I’m not sure if I should give rewards for noticing kind acts. Will that make them expect something every time?
Has anyone else tried positive reinforcement for social skills? What worked best for younger kids?
In our family, we’ve found that praising specific social behaviors really helps our kids learn. When my 10-year-old notices someone feeling left out and includes them, we make sure to tell her how thoughtful that was.
For our 7-year-old, we play a game where we guess how characters in books or shows might be feeling. It’s fun for him and helps him pick up on emotions.
We also talk about social situations they encounter during dinner. They love sharing stories and it gives us a chance to discuss different perspectives.
These little things have made a big difference. Our kids seem more aware of others’ feelings now. It’s not perfect, but we’re seeing progress!
I’ve been down this road with both my kids. For my younger one, we started a ‘kindness jar.’ Whenever they noticed someone being kind or did something nice themselves, they got to put a marble in the jar. Once it was full, we’d do a fun family activity.
It really helped them pay attention to how people interact. They started noticing little things, like classmates sharing or helping others. We’d talk about these moments at dinner, which made for great conversations about empathy.
For my teenager, we took a different approach. We started discussing social situations they encountered, praising their insights. This encouraged them to think more deeply about interactions and motivations.
Every kid is different, but positive reinforcement definitely helped mine become more socially aware. 
It takes time, but it’s worth it to see them grow into more considerate people.