01/13/2021
Social-Emotional Development in Toddlers
You may have heard that social skills are innate. But what exactly does that mean? Basically, that phrase indicates that social skills develop naturally, even if your child has not had any exposure to similar-aged peers.
By 12 months of age your typically developed child will be making eye contact and tracking your movements. At this age, you may also notice when your child is trying to obtain your attention and/or direct your attention to items of interest. They may look at you, use words/babble/make a sound while looking and pointing to an object of interest, and then look back at you to make sure you took notice. Basically your child is attempting to connect socially with you and direct your attention to things they want/like. Your child may also be tracking your movements. For instance, they may follow your point or follow the movement of your face/head to objects.
They may also be responding to your facial expressions. For example, when you smile/laugh you may notice a change in your child’s facial expression that mimics your smile/laugh. Your child may also be mimicking gestures. For example, when you clap in excitement your child will notice and copy your clap.
In an earlier post, I mentioned the importance of playing with your child. Play is another way to observe your child’s social-emotional skills. For example, you may notice that when you engage in peekaboo, your child will be anticipating the play (aka your return from behind your hands/blanket/object). If you pretend to hide behind something, your child may lean forward or toward the direction where you are hiding to look for you.
These are just some examples of typical social-emotional development starting with 12-month olds. As a parent, you know your child best. With that in mind, I always recommend that if you ever have concerns about your child’s social development or development in general, to speak to your child’s pediatrician and/or a developmental pediatrician regarding your concerns.
