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Empathy is one of the most important social-emotional skills children can learn. When kids understand and care about how others feel, they are better able to build healthy friendships, resolve conflicts, and contribute positively to their classroom and family environments. In Teaching Social Skills to Youth, 4th Edition, Boys Town’s proven model outlines a clear, practical skill that helps children develop empathy in everyday interactions: Expressing Empathy and Understanding for Others. T …

Part 2: How to Teach Social Skills After exploring how social skills help us make connections, foster a sense of belonging, and strengthen our social-emotional health ( see Part 1 ), let’s take a step back and examine how, exactly, we can help kids learn and use these skills so they can succeed in the classroom, at home, and in our community. Here is a straightforward, five-step action plan you can follow to successfully teach social skills to any child in your care.1. Start …

Part 1: Social Skills Can Expand (and Limit) Life’s OpportunitiesWhen you hear the phrase “social skills,” you probably think about all the verbal and nonverbal actions and behaviors that happen while interacting with others. Your words. Their words. Your tone. Their tone. Your gestures. Their gestures. Your appearance. Their appearance. All the stuff that comes together and contributes to the success or failure of an interaction. Being human, we’re naturally social beings. However, the d …