Few things in life are as important as teamwork. That’s why it’s so important to instil the importance of teamwork in our kids from an early age. There are many benefits to teamwork that can last a lifetime, including improved communication skills, increased cooperation, and greater success in both academic and professional settings. Here’s why teamwork for kids is so important– and how you can help them develop this essential skill!
How teamwork makes the dream work!
‘Getting along and engaging with others is the building block of many things in life,’ says chartered clinical psychologist and parenting adviser Claire Halsey. ‘From a young age, children need to learn how to give and take, share, take turns, play to their strengths and draw in other people to fill the gaps. It’s a core social skill.’
Team-building activities are vital at all stages of life, but for kids it’s even more important to practice while they’re young, as the benefits can carry them throughout their childhood and adulthood. Whatever your child ends up doing for work when they’re older, they need to be able to interact with the people around them. They need good communication skills and the ability to build relationships whether it's with family, friends, colleagues, customers or anyone else. By working as part of a team, children develop important life skills like problem solving, listening, leadership, and creative thinking.
Being part of a team is a great way for your child to also improve other social skills, such as patience, empathy and tolerance. They'll learn how communicate with others better through compromise or conflict resolution processes too! Not only will they find it easier over time to express their own ideas and opinions but also to listen to and respect what others have to say. Plus, they’ll feel more confident about themselves when working alongside other people who are also striving towards the same goals.
Working and collaborating with others will help your children to gain self-awareness. They’ll learn more about themselves and also learn about others as they work together. By interacting with other children, they can find out about their own strengths, weaknesses and the things they can improve on.
Encouraging children to get into groups and work together will get even the shyest and most reserved children to open up and become more social. In a group, everyone participates and helps each other to perform well so the group effort makes the team members feel more valued, confident and secure. By sticking together, the chances of being bullied is also less likely as they know they have a support system to help them in any situation.
How to promote effective teamwork in your kids
One of the easiest ways to incorporate teamwork and collaboration is at home. As parents, there are probably tons of things you do that your kids could be involved in, whether that’s tidying up, cooking, cleaning, building or anything else. Take baking as an example. The next time you are cooking dinner, organise it as a fun family activity involving everyone. You can assign each family member a specific role- one child can be in charge of assembling the ingredients, one can be in charge of assembling equipment and another can monitor the cooking time etc. By giving each child a responsibility to take part in during the baking process, you can help them build their confidence and team working skills over time.
Top 8 ways to incorporate teamwork:
1- Reward your kids when they work together to complete chores such as cleaning their room, washing dishes together after dinner etc.
2- Enrol your kids in after-school clubs, allowing them to choose which club they want to attend, depending on their passions and interests so they can meet other people and make more friends
3- Encourage social interaction among your kids’ friends. Invite them over every now and then so they can study together, do arts & crafts together or play team building games
4- After watching a film with the whole family, have a discussion about it. Take turns to say what you liked most and what you liked least about the movie
5- Play family games together such as hide and seek, charades, board games and card games
6- Play team sports together in your garden or at your local park- this is a great way to teach them about cooperation and working towards a common goal
7- Volunteer together at a local charity or community event - this will help your children learn the importance of helping others and working together for the common good
8- Road trips! Taking trips together as a family is a great way to bond and also teaches your children about different cultures and how to get along with people from all walks of life
Lastly, one of the most important ways you can promote teamwork is by being a good example of it and modelling it yourself. Kids are impressionable, especially at a young age so the more they see you socialising, communicating and working with others, the more they’ll do it too.
Amazing activities to develop teamwork skills
Here, we’ve listed some really fantastic teamwork activities for kids:
- Printables- The best thing about our printables is that they're great for teamwork. You can get your kids together with their best friends or siblings, go crazy colouring and completing the activities as a group and have fun together. A great way of boosting teamwork among young ones while also helping them learn new skills - what could be better?
- Your own bath bomb making kit to make at home- Bath bombs are great, but making them with your little ones is even better! Your kids will love collaborating with you on this project - it's sure to strengthen their teamwork skills as they learn how much can be achieved when people work collaboratively.
- Our blog about a range of entertaining teamwork games for kids and the whole family to play together- playing games will not only help your kids with their social skills but also teach how important group activities can be in life outside of school. Everyone has fun while getting some good practice working alongside each other.
- Our blog about arts & crafts for kids- Art is truly a form of creativity, and kids will love the chance to collaborate with you in making something beautiful. They'll learn that by working together on these projects they can make many amazing things to be proud of!
- Mindful Dreams Notebook 4 Kids! This notebook is the perfect tool for you and your kids to wind down and spend time together. It’s filled with positive affirmations as well as 'Mummy & Me' Gratitude Journals. When you sit down with your kids to write in gratitude journals together, they practice communicating honestly about their thoughts and feelings towards others it will help them build teamwork skills they can use forever!
Without teamwork what will happen to the future of our children?
Imagine a world without teamwork. When children don't learn how to work with others, the future is bleak for them. If collaboration and teamwork has been missing from their life experiences, they might have trouble in school or their future careers as they won’t learn how to support or respect their peers. No one can prosper effectively without cohesive partnerships where everyone plays an equal role. When children don't identify with the team, they will no longer care about sharing responsibilities. They’ll only want what's best for themselves instead of being a part in something greater than just themselves. Children growing up today need to be more understanding and supportive of their friends and vice-versa so that the support and help can be returned when they themselves are faced with difficult situations.
It is so important for children to grow in their knowledge- they won’t be able to only do this alone, so it's crucial that they have good teamwork skills so they can to learn so much from each other and get to know other people, cultures etc. By learning from others, they can also expand their own creativity and abilities.
The future success of a child is dependent on how well they work with others. If kids don't practice teamwork from an early age, this can have lifelong effects and limit their potential for accomplishments in life.
Ultimately, teamwork is the KEY to success!
The BEST thing about working together is that it means we all win. When we work together, the world is a better place. When children work together on a common goal, they can achieve so much more, even things beyond their greatest imagination! It can also help when a child is struggling, to know that they aren't alone and someone will always be there to help, to work with them and solve problems together!
Children need to learn how valuable teamwork is from an early age so that they can grow up into kind adults who support their friends, family and anyone that needs it.