As your toddler grows, you may be looking for ways to help him or her grow socially. The good news is that toddlers are always learning, so there are ways you can help them develop socially as well. Here are several tips for helping your toddler develop in this area.
Talk to your toddler-Your child learns so much from you! Take the time to talk to your toddler on a daily basis. This helps them process being around someone else and they learn to communicate and talk with another person when you do this.
Experience new places– Kids get comfortable, just like adults do. Every once in a while, take your child somewhere new to experience “new” people, places, and things!
Help them learn to resolve conflict– This is a hard concept for kids to grasp, but it’s an important one. Sometimes they have to learn to resolve conflict on their own, with your supervision of course.
Let them make mistakes– Toddlers aren’t perfect and along the way of trying to help them develop socially, they might make some mistakes and that’s okay.
Don’t force anything on your child– Sometimes kids just don’t get along with other children and that’s not their fault. Teach them to be polite, but don’t force anything on them.
Let them know you’re there– Toddlers want to know that their parent is right there. If they know you’re there (a gentle hand on the shoulder or an arm’s length away) will give them confidence they need to play with other kids at the park or at a birthday party.
Give it time– If you have a toddler that would much rather sit and play by themselves, that’s okay! Make sure you give your toddler ample time to develop on all avenues. All you can do is guide them when they are ready.
Show a positive attitude– Our kids can pick up on how we think and feel. Give your child a positive outlook on life, so they are more prone to try new opportunities. If you show that you are anxious or overwhelmed with a situation, they might pick up on that too. (There’s nothing wrong with being anxious, but we don’t have to protrude our feelings onto our kids, let them develop their own)!
Personal space is important– Being “social” isn’t always about being happy-go-lucky. Sometimes it’s about being polite and getting along with others, even if we don’t want to. You can help your child mature socially by teaching them about personal space.
Body language– You can help your toddler develop socially by teaching them not to hit, bite, scratch, or punch anyone who’s trying to play with them. Instead, if they don’t want to play, you can teach them to say “no thank you” and move onto another toy.
Helping your toddler develop socially is more of an emotional state and less of a “do this, don’t do this” state. You want your child to be successful with playing with other children and being okay in social environments, but you can’t force it.
Mandy P.
Tuesday 3rd of November 2015
Such great tips - especially realizing it's important to be patient
Dandi D
Thursday 15th of October 2015
I wish I had done more of these things with my son when he was that age.