5 ways to get your kids playing nicely together
One of the benefits of having kids around, especially if they're not of the same age is that; they can keep each other occupied while you attend to some other important issues. Every now and then, you can't rule out the possibilities of misunderstanding between them. The occurrence of such misunderstanding can be greatly reduced when each of the kids knows what is expected of them as they play with one another.
1. Feeling Expression: Getting kids to learn how to express their feelings is important when it comes to dealing with other people. Basic lessons like this would ensure that they make their feeling towards an act known to their friends or siblings rather than trying to put blame on another person or feeling resentful towards them.
Teach each of your child to make people know how they feel about things. If they're not comfortable with it, teach them to talk about it politely, while passing their message across firmly. This will go a long way in preventing unwanted misunderstanding when they play with their friends. Because they can easily call their friends or siblings to order when they do things they're not very comfortable with.
2. Shared Interest: Take for instance; If child A wants to play video games, while child B wants to be outdoor skipping, it is almost impossible to get them to play along without issues. Because their interest isn't aligned, one would enjoy the toy play time, while the other would only feel obligated to participate. Any slight mistake from the person with the preferred interest will result into fight and argument between the two parties.
A good approach to resolving this issue is to find a mutual interest between the two. This goes without saying, that it would not always work out all the time. But preference should be given to ensuring that they both enjoyed the activity.
3. Teach Kids About Respect: Respect is reciprocal. If they want to be respected, they must equally respect their others. This is a very important lesson to learn as early as possible. At every given instance, reiterate the importance of mutual respect to them. There are many ways to reinforce this, but the most important thing is that they master it as they play and interact with others.
4. Handling Conflict: At a certain point, no matter how careful and well behaved the kids are; there would be disagreement every now and then. Let them try and resolve their differences in a respectful manner without interfering. Interfering might give rise to the notion of favoritism towards one of them.
5. Responsibility for Older kids: It is important to make the oldest among the kids to understand that he is responsible for the welfare of the younger ones. This would help prevent bullying from older kids since they know what is expected of them. It also gives them a sense of responsibility, making them go above and beyond to ensure that every member of the group is treated equally.
6. Toys and Games: Kids love playing games and enjoying toys, which is why board games are a fun pick for families. There are loads of activities and games for them to enjoy together. Siblings and children learn to share with toys and games, which is why this is a crucial opportunity to get children developing whilst learning through play.
