Consequences (dun dun dun)

One of the best ways to improve a child's social language skills is to teach them the consequences - both good and bad - of actions they take.

This is especially important after the age of 5 or 6, when theory of mind, and perspective taking, has emerged, and starts to strengthen.

When a child does an action, it is important that they start to think about -

1. How the action makes them feel - AND - how it makes people around them feel

2. What others might think as a result of the action

3. And what might happen next time a similar action happens (long term consequence)

For example, say a child speaks really loudly in quiet places, like the library. Instead of just saying "be quiet", it can be very helpful to walk a child through the reasoning of why they have to be quiet. Using the framework above,

1. Being loud might scare or startle people

2. tThey might think we are being inconsiderate and only caring about our own selves

3. Next time, someone might warn us to be quiet, which could be embarrassing

This is a great framework to use when disciplining in general - but it is particularly useful for children who need help with perspective taking, problem solving, and other social skills. And the best part is, you can just incorporate it into daily routines and actions.

So remember - how others feel, how others think, and what happens next time.

And, if you want a story / game based worksheet to practice this skill with your child before you jump in, check out Monkey Consequences - ideal for mid / upper elementary school kids - on Smarter Speech's TPT store.

Happy Talking!

Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.