Page 75 - 19-1 April 27, '22
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Is Friendship
a Learned
Skill?
By Rifka Schonfeld, Director of S.O.S.
(Strategies For Optimum Success)
Q: Can someone learn how to make
friends?
A: People assume that we are born
with innate social skills, but in reality, in learning how to relate to other
we are implicitly taught social skills
Infants learn to smile in response to may not have had socially skilled role
a happy event, toddlers learn that models to learn from or they may
waving their hand means “hi,” and
kindergarteners learn that saying
“please” and “thank you” gets them having very socially skilled parents
cues without anybody going out of
Undoubtedly, no one “teaches” children in order to help them gain
Therefore, the answer to your
is a toddler, then perhaps enact
“learn” how to make friends without
there are some children who do
do?
the book Social Awareness Skills for Child:
