Your toddler is learning how to communicate and form relationships as they navigate the world around them. We’d like to look at their social skills and interactions in more detail and discuss how parents can support their development in this area.

OK, but what are social skills, exactly?

These skills allow us to interact with others positively and appropriately. Examples include empathising, taking turns, sharing, and following other social norms and rules. Social skills are important for a child’s relationships with others and overall well-being.

Why are social skills important for toddlers?

Toddlers grow into preschoolers and will soon need to get along with lots of new people outside the family. Without social skills, they may experience integration difficulties like failing to make friends or resolve conflicts. Children with poor social skills may even be at a higher risk for mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

Oh my goodness, so how can I support great social skills and interactions in toddlers?

Here are five easy ways parents can help:

Encourage positive interactions with others.

Encourage positive interactions with others by modelling positive behaviour and providing opportunities for your child to interact with other children. Praise your child for positive interactions, such as sharing or taking turns, and provide guidance when needed. This helps children learn how to cooperate and negotiate with each other.

Praise your child for interacting well with others.

Congratulate your little one on sharing, taking turns,or otherwise cooperating with other children. Demonstrate how to behave nicely with people outside the home by doing so yourself when out with your child.

Teach empathy and emotional regulation.

Teaching your toddler to describe and label their own emotions can gift them with a remarkable capacity to self-soothe, or at least to ask for help more specifically when they are upset. Encourage your child to understand the emotions of others and empathise by using clear real-life or book-based examples.

Communicate social boundaries and expectations.

Set clear boundaries and expectations for social behaviour. For example, let your child know that hitting or pushing is not allowed and explain why. Provide consistent consequences for inappropriate behaviour, such as a time-out or loss of privileges.

Set some play dates.

Provide opportunities for social play by arranging playdates with other children, enrolling your child in social activities like dance or music classes, and visiting playgrounds or playgroups where your child can interact with other children.

Book them in for a nursery day.

Sometimes letting your child explore social situations while supervised by a trained professional can benefit their skills.

Use make-believe to teach social skills.

Engage in role-play scenarios with your child to teach them to socialise. For example, you can pretend to be a teacher, and your child can be a student. This can also be a great way to teach manners and social boundaries before your child has to respect them outside the home.

How do I help my toddler to develop strong social skills and improve their interactions?

From Unii’s Toddler Speech Journey, we share advice on helping toddlers become social butterflies.