USA Today: How To Teach Your Child To Behave, Play Well With Others And Overcome Pandemic Awkwardness

Lightbridge Academy , an early education and child care franchise brand, is noticing the difference in students today compared to those attending its centers before the pandemic. The company’s CEO Gigi Schweikert wants to help parents overcome issues and obstacles with their children after a pandemic isolated them from socialization.

As a starting point, parents and caregivers can focus on helping children understand their big emotions, including how to recognize, label, understand, express and regulate them. They can show them visual representations of varying emotions using facial cues and body language. Once children understand their emotions, they are better equipped for social interaction.

“The biggest points of raising and educating pandemic babies and toddlers revolve around socialization – learning to communicate and learning to interact with people,” said Schweikert .

Parents and caregivers are the most important teachers regarding young children’s socialization. Parents should pay attention to their own habits, as young children are always observing and imitating how the adults in their lives interact with others.