The importance of teamwork and its benefits for children
Do you want your child to learn to be a better listener and have more empathy and patience? Here we will investigate the importance of teamwork and its benefits for children.
Teamwork doesn’t always come naturally for children. If your child is struggling with working alongside other children or family members don’t worry you aren’t alone. Like adults, children may struggle with teamwork because of reasons like they are shy, bossy, or even don’t like losing. Toddlers can be quite selfish and look out for number one – they want their needs to be met first and can consequently struggle with teamwork at the start. Has your own child had a tantrum before they didn’t get their own way or snatched a toy off a sibling or another child? Learning to work as a team through activities like play and exercise can help your child hone many social skills to help with improving these behaviors.
When you think of children, do you think of the importance of teamwork and team building? You may think this is just an activity you do in a more corporate work setting as an adult, but teamwork is an essential skill for children to learn and develop in their early years too. Like us adults, it is important for children to have good coaches and mentors to help teach and develop these important teamwork and communication skills. A good teacher is critical to learning whether it is yourself as parents, coaches at physical activity sessions or teachers at school. Learning these teamwork and communication skills can help children be happier adults and more successful in the future in education and the workplace.
Teamwork, no matter what age you are, is an essential part of learning both personal and group skills including problem solving, idea exchanging and communicating. These important skills can be introduced to toddlers through play and physical activities where children are working together towards a common goal and even more impactful when learning through fun!
Effective teamwork for children is taking a cooperative approach where children work together to solve a challenge. The “challenge” may vary from finding a friend in a game of hide and seek in the school playground, building a Lego set with a parent or coordinating a talent or dance show at the weekend with siblings and cousins – these are all examples of learning and developing teamwork. Can you remember doing any of these as a child or see it now in your own children?
Children through organized play learn to compromise and ultimately gain skills such as tolerance and patience – all skills that can benefit with daily interactions in relationships including with parents, other siblings extended to neighbors and other members in their local community. Through organized children’s activities these essential communication and teamwork skills can be learnt and developed without a focus solely being on competition – this fun and inclusive environment helps to teach these skills through a positive experience. Your children taking part in physical activities like football at organizations Little Kickers where their motto is “play not push” offers experiences for teamwork and highlights the importance of working together whether it is with a parent, coach, or other children.
Activity examples that help promote teamwork include:
- Nursery and playgroups
- Sports like football, netball, athletics
- Activities like drama, dance and scouts
- Home activities like helping other siblings with their homework or household chores.
Teamwork is a great skill to develop children’s confidence and their belief in their own abilities. Not only does working as a team during childhood help build self-confidence it also allows opportunities for your child to trust others. All these essential skills that are learnt at such a young age can be applied in the future to school, work and in our local communities.
