Hello,
I remember when lockdowns were happening there was some talk of lack of kids socialising then and my son was 4. He was 3 when covid first happened and I had only placed him in nursery when he was 3.5 because he was quite anxious around others and waited till I saw signs that he was getting better about it. Eventually he seemed ready and he started. Covid hit one month after he started. Then when reception started he was off for months throughout the year. I got pregnant when I was up for my vaccination and waited till I was 2nd trimester to have it. He had an older brother but I'm afraid he missed so much with socialising in those years because of lockdowns, caution, and quarantining. We are from abroad so have very little friends and definitely none with children close in age. He's now showing signs that he doesn't understand some emotions like empathy. His brother had tons of playdates in our original country, he had them multiple times a week with me there to talk him through emotions (like, "Sarah is sad that you have the train, she would like a turn with it too. If you were Sarah wouldn't you want to play with it also? I bet if you gave it to her for a few minutes it would make her very happy. That would be very kind of you to do that". His older brother is 4 years older so we didn't have to explain emotions about him.
I'm at a loss of how I can go about teaching him these things when he's nearly 7 now. Any ideas? We've watched movies like inside out, the little prince, etc. Still not making much progress. I have a whole slew of books about emotions in the loft but feel they're too immature for him now. Has anyone had the same, or have any ideas? I know their school struggles with their whole class because there is a lack of social understanding.