Teaching Children Social Skills? Boost Kids? Explain!

When people first here about Boost Kids it brings a variety of questions to there mind. What exactly does it teach? What is the goal of the program? How does it work? These are all familiar questions as parents and educators try to put their arms around the concept of Boost Kids and I will hopefully provide the answers to these questions and any others you might have in the following paragraphs.

In thinking about the first question, the basic focus of Boost Kids is to teach children social skills and character development. These two general areas are covered throughout the program with a variety of topics. There are twenty-eight topics in all which range from greeting people, eye contact, speaking clearly, listening, and telephone manners on the social skills side to resisting peer pressure, handling being teased, accomplishing goals, and respecting others on the character development side. The children are exposed to the philosophy behind each topic through a reading in the Activity Book. This helps to explain the concept of the topic and how their actions can affect others. The kids will also see a real life video scenario for each topic through the use of the Boost Kids CD-ROM. This helps the kids visually see the right and wrong way to handle situations relevant to their lives and how some of their own actions might be portrayed. By providing the background understanding behind the various topics Boost Kids teaches children social skills and character development basics by directly giving kids ideas, skills, and tools necessary for successfully navigating through life.

The second question posed by many parents pertains to the overall goal of Boost Kids. The main goal is to help increase the confidence of kids in social and character testing situations. When a child is confident they not only interact and develop stronger relationships with others, but they feel better about themselves. Building confidence in kids is a constant theme throughout each lesson in Boost Kids and the entire program.

As explained above, Boost Kids covers important areas of social development for kids as well as have a legitimate and essential goal for kids to attain. However, the last and most important question is, “How does it work?” The purpose of Boost Kids is to provide kids with the knowledge and awareness to function socially and exhibit strong character. By teaching the children social skills and character development they are learning about skills they will immediately encounter and use in life. Boost Kids gives them a specific strategy to use and remember in a variety of situations in their lives equipping them with the “know-how” to operate in these situations. This helps increase kids’ confidence because in the back of their mind they know how to handle the situation. It is no longer, “What should I do?” but rather, “I know what to do”.  This increased awareness helps to build confidence and with each new encounter that confidence continues to grow. Whether it is greeting someone or resisting pressure from peers Boost Kids provides a game plan for the child to confidently deal with the situation. Each time they greet someone or rise above the pressure their confidence will grow through the experience they have gained.

Teaching children social skills and character development are vital parts helping kids successfully function in the world we live in. Making sure that your kids are equipped and aware of these important skills will help them confidently enter into situations where they will be challenged. When encountering these situations in their lives you want them to blossom and overcome rather then to shrink back and avoid. Boost Kids provides simple and easy strategies for kids to use in a variety of situations they will inevitably encounter. Through this increased knowledge your kids will blossom in socially challenging situations and gain confidence each step along the way.

How BoostKids Can Help:
BoostKids is a program that can help increase a child’s confidence by teaching social skills to children and building their character.  BoostKids has been and is currently being taught in schools, non-profit organizations, and after-school programs.  The program is now available as an at-home training program for children and their parents.  The key training tool of the BoostKids program is an interactive CD-ROM that shows kids the right-way and the wrong-way to handle social situations.  They learn from real kid actors in real-life scenerios! 

For more information about what’s included in BoostKids, click here. 

ORDER NOW - Free 30-day Trial, click here.

By Charlie Copp - Executive Director of Boost Kids

About the author: Charlie Copp is the executive director for BOOST KIDS, an interactive CD ROM-based program for kids ages six and up, that teaching children social skills and strong character across the nation. His work with BOOST KIDS confirms what Copp has always believed: that kids and teens are hungry for character-building life skills, and with them gain the confidence needed to succeed in the classroom, on the playing field, in their interpersonal relationships, and on the job.