Building Good Relationship Skills at Home

For the past weeks, we have been learning about the different competencies in Social-Emotional Learning. We have talked about self-awareness, self-management & social awareness. This week’s topic is about the 4th competency: Relationship Skills. This one is closely related to social awareness.

Relationship skills are one’s ability to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships. A person with good relationship skills can effectively navigate social settings by reading social cues and initiating conversations. This also includes listening to conversations actively, communicating with others well, cooperating, and collaborating in group work to solve problems and negotiate conflicts constructively.

Greater Good in Education published an article about Social Awareness and Relationship Skills and how these two are closely related. They have listed different social awareness and relationship skills. Here is the list below:

Social Awareness

Relationship Skills

Identifying social cues (verbal, physical) to determine how others feel Taking others’ perspectives Demonstrating empathy and compassion Showing concern for the feelings of others Understanding and expressing gratitude Recognizing strengths in others Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones Recognizing situational demands and opportunities Caring about and being motivated to contribute to the well-being of one’s family, friends, school, community, the environment, and the greater good

Initiating contact with others and cultivating friendship Sharing one’s thoughts and feelings (appropriately) Communicating effectively Developing positive relationships Demonstrating cultural humility Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving Resolving conflicts constructively Approaching relationships with positive presuppositions Resisting negative social pressure Resisting stereotypes Standing up for the rights of others Showing leadership in groups Seeking or offering support and help when needed

In essence, there is a strong connection between social awareness and relationship skills. For instance, when students endeavour to address a conflict in their interactions (relationship skills), the task becomes more seamless when both parties can understand and share feelings (social awareness).

Parent-child relationship has an immense impact on your child’s relationship skills. After all, home is their primary learning environment. A healthy and supportive home will help your child develop good relationship skills.

You can use two strategies at home to foster your child’s relationship skills.

a. Rose, Bud, Thorn is a strategy that helps your child identify positive events or things that happened and areas where they need support.

• Rose: Positive moments or highlight of the week.

• Bud: Something that they are looking forward to next week.

• Thorn: Something they need help with in the next week.

You can find out more about this strategy from Mindful Schools.

b. Who is Great at This? – This strategy helps your child recognize people around them who are good at showing different relationship-building skills. This also helps you talk with your child and hear stories about their peers or the important people in their lives. Here is an example activity sheet you can use at home: Who is Great at This?

These are just two strategies that you can do at home. There are other simple activities that you can also do, such as taking a moment to check in with them and see how they are doing, giving them your full attention by blocking out time each day, or acknowledging their feeling when they are sharing something to you. Cultivating your child’s relationship skills will help them construct meaningful and positive connections with others. Establishing connections and fostering healthy relationships is crucial, as relationships play a vital role in our feelings of belonging and overall happiness. Next week, Ms. Tania will share about the last SEL competencies. Stay tuned!

Written by: Ms. Pom (Learning Support Teacher - pomposa.canlas@sph.ac.id)