Blossoming Socialization Skills: First Evidence

Homeschoolers frequently hear the dreaded  "s" word  question from those who have little or no understanding of what homeschooling really is.  "But, what about socialization? You must send your kids to (public) school to be properly socialized,"  we are told by well-meaning friends, relatives, and so-called 'experts' in the field of education.    What these people don't realize is that proper behavior must be taught long before a child reaches school age.  A child who is being raised in a loving home by attentive parents will frequently begin showing evidence of the understanding of proper social skills by age 2  1/2  to 3 years.  If parents don't make an effort to teach proper social skills to their young children BEFORE they reach school age, then they have done their children a great disservice. 

I was especially proud of my little 2 yr. 10 mo. old grandson today while at the park with members of our homeschool  support group.  We were having a playdate for preschoolers.  The kids ranged in age from 12 months to 5 years old.  I had taken a large, light-weight vinyl ball for the kids to play with.  A little 17 month old boy excitedly tossed the ball to a 13 month old  little girl.  It hit her on the head, which did not injure her, but it did scare her a bit.  My grandson saw the startled look on the little girl's face as she ran to her mother for comfort.  A short while later, my grandson picked up the ball and went close to the little girl, and gently tossed the ball toward her, but closer to ground.  The little girl did not startle this time, but gladly accepted the ball.  My grandson turned to me and said, "I didn't throw...I didn't hit..."  He paused to think about what he was trying to tell me.  Then he continued, "I didn't hit her head, Mommaw!" 

How thrilled I was to see proper social skills beginning to blossom in such a young child.  Not only was he displaying proper behavior, but he was actually thinking ahead of time about the comfort and well-being of another person.  He did not learn these skills in a classroom.  He learned them from living and interacting with his family and  from those whom his family associate with.