Why is it relevant for a 5 year old child to develop appropriate social skills?This question pertains to the need of a social society in a public...

The development of young children's social skills is foundational to leading a productive life. Specifically, professionals have linked children's social interactions with others to their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development regarding roles, sexuality, socialization, and personality (McCoy, Brody, & Stoneman, 2002; Salmon, 2003; Spitze & Logan, 1991).

Children's social skills are particularly relevant to developing emotion regulation, self-concept, and communication skills, all of which shape later interactions with authority figures, coworkers, colleagues, and spouses (Anderson, Sabatelli, & Kosutic, 2007; Brody & Murry, 2001; Tucker et al., 1999; Weisner, 1989; Whiteman et al., 2007). In fact, researchers have linked deficits in social skills with negative behaviors such as quitting school, delinquency and aggression, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, development of mental health problems, and involvement in criminal activities (Ary, Tildesley, Hops, & Andrews, 1993; Bank, Patterson, & Reid, 1996; Bard & Rodgers, 2003; Dunn, 2000; Slomkowski, Rende, Novak, Lloyd-Richardson, & Niaura, 2005). Thus, the more we understand how social skills impact young children’s later emotional attachments, the more effective we will be in equipping young people with social skills to deal with others constructively (Lockwood et al., 2001).