Turn Taking Helps Teach Social Competence

A skill that is important for children to learn is how to take turns. Learning how to take turns teaches children how to read the cues of other people who are participating in play and helps them determine the best time to push for their own terms. Learning how to take turns also helps children learn how to delay gratification. It's important for children to learn they're not always going to get what they want and a situation won't always have an outcome they're happy about. It's important for children to learn to wait to get what they want whether that be that they have to wait to talk to a parent because they're on the phone, having a conversation with another person, have to wait until an activity or chore is done to get what they want etc.

Learning how to  negotiate successfully as they learn to guess what will interest the other children they're playing with and work out a plan where all children's needs are met is another important concept of learning how to take turns. A child may see that another child is being left out and they want to try to find a way for the child to be included. A child may see a better way for a game to be played so everyone has a turn or gets to play with the favorite toy. To know how to negotiate a solution to these problems is an important skill for children to learn as they then learn how to take turns.

Sometimes when children are playing they need help to negotiate and compromise. For example, if one child wants to play a board game and another child wants to ride bikes, the children can  negotiate which one to do first but also agree to do both and an adult helping them understand that concept helps children learn how to negotiate and comprise a solution that benefits everyone or else the most people in the group. Children benefit from compromise because it helps children see the view of the other person and see there is more than one way to do something and both ways can be right.