Raise Your Child’s Social IQ by Cathi Cohen, L.C.S.W.

Review by Kathy Kuhl

Raise Your Child’s Social I.Q. guides parents to help develop their children’s social skills. A mother and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with fifteen years of experience running a mental health practice and counseling children and adolescents, Cohen has written a clear, practical book to help us apply the principles she developed to teach social skills. This book helps you take the core principles of her Stepping Stones social skills program and carry it into your children’s lives at home and in the community.

Though not written for homeschoolers, this approach is easy to apply to homeschool. While our homeschooled children are not surrounded by peers all day, we can use these techniques to teach skills to practice in homeschool group settings, at the playground, and in the family. While Raise Your Child’s Social I.Q. was not written for children with learning difficulties, it concludes with a thoughtful sixteen page afterword, “For Parents of Children with Special Needs,” which recognizes our special challenges. The afterword specifically addresses attention deficit disorder, non-verbal learning disability, and Asperger Syndrome and high-functioning autism, but children with other conditions can benefit from this program, too.

Progression of skills

Knowing we can’t fix everything at once, Cohen divided this book into ten chapters, beginning with more basic skills:

• Joining in
• Communicating and conversing
• Reading social signals
• Raising self-esteem
• Coping with teasing
• Managing stress
• Solving social problems
• Resolving conflicts
• Managing anger
• Putting it all together

Each chapter begins with a couple examples of children needing this chapter’s social skill, followed by a short quiz to help you decide if this skill is one your child needs to develop. (You needn’t wait until your child perfects one skill before moving to the next chapter, the author reassures us.) Next comes a discussion of that skill and what it includes. For example, in Chapter 2, on Communicating and Conversing, Cohen explains how to teach making good eye contact, practicing active listening, using a pleasant tone of voice, and respecting other people’s personal space. Cartoons, checklists, charts, games, and logs show you how to understand, explain, and help your child practice skills and track progress. The large print, headings, and layout make the book easy to use.

I recommend this book. Want to learn more? See below

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