Are you a parent of a young toddler? If the answer is yes, I do hope that you are providing your child with the opportunity of interacting with other toddlers. You may be a parent with more than one child, and that is all great and good, but we are not talking about sibling interaction here. Social interaction is a little different.
Social interaction starts from the moment your child is born and continues throughout their lifetime. It means from that first moment your child breathes their emotional receptors are absorbing the world around them.
Interacting with family members such as parents and siblings is great. It teaches them to trust and love. It teaches them how to react to things in ever day life, it teaches them how to relate to society and function as a human being.
Social interaction amongst peers is vital even at the toddler stage. It prepares them for school, work, and live outside of the comfort of their home. Toddlers need to have an escape from their four walls, they need to see how other children their own age act, live, and play.
If you are a parent of a toddler, it is important that you take part in a community event or group that has people just like you. A parent or parents with a toddler. Play dates at the park, the community center, a temporary care such as a day care, pre-school, or even a visit to the library is an event that would give them the opportunity to interact with others their own age.
At these types of functions, your child will learn about sharing, emotions of others, build listening skills, and how to problem solve in a social situation. Learning social skills through interacting with others is important in your child’s development. If you are not giving your child this opportunity, I urge you to pick up the phone and call around to see what programs are available that your child can participate in as a member of our society. It will help to build their social skills for their life that lies ahead.
What activities do you do with your toddler or did you do when your children were toddlers? Can you remember that far back? 😉
Pam Buttikofer is a co-founder of Imperfect Women. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband of 36 years and enjoys spending time with her husband, sons and her lovable pups.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
May 28, 2014 at 1:16 pmI actually joined the local MOMS club in my town when my oldest was 2 so that I could meet other moms in the group. I stayed in until my second son was 3 or 4 and we did lots of playdates, activities and outings as a group.
Ashley Gill says
May 28, 2014 at 1:19 pmI’ve been debating on whether to keep my MOMs Club membership when I move states away. My son would benefit from it, so I’m thinking we need to. I don’t take him to daycare, so its a way to get him to play with others.
Healy Harpster says
May 28, 2014 at 1:48 pmI have two kids 2 years old and 6 years old. I take them to the park, church events, parties and friends houses who also have the kids same with their age for interaction purposes. I don’t want them to grow up shy!
Denise Gabbard says
May 28, 2014 at 2:41 pmMy littlest granddaughter is not yet 2, and she has a busy social life– and several besties already.
Jennifer Williams says
May 28, 2014 at 9:38 pmI have a 4 year old and have taken him to the park ever since he could sit up in a swing, however he is just starting to interact with other children. He will not actually interact with them at a park but at a play place where they can get away from adults, for some odd reason he is terrified of adults – has been since he was under a year old which is why I left work to stay home with him.
celebbabylaundry says
May 29, 2014 at 11:05 amSocial interaction is important for everyone, no matter the age; I find it’s needed in order to be mentally healthy.
Lily@IW says
May 29, 2014 at 11:51 amAs an older mom, this was a hard one for me. The first time around, some friends and family were having babies at the same time as I was or shortly after. With my second birth at 40, my friends had children who were married or in college. There were no littles around. The local library story time was fantastic. There was a time allotment to play games and they always had a craft afterwards. The parents got to know one another and we planned a few outings to local parks. I was impressed with how far some of the parents drove just to get their little ones to our story time.
She’s 11 now. It’s such a happy memory. I still have the card set they gave us of all the finger games and songs, like Criss Cross Applesauce and Five Little Monkeys.
The librarians were wonderful.
becca says
May 29, 2014 at 1:09 pmNever joined any mom clubs but then again when you don’t drive getting out is hard.
Ashley B. says
May 29, 2014 at 3:33 pmSocial Interaction for toddlers is so very important, and I think so few parents think about that. This post really proves that social interaction is beneficial.
Lady Lilith says
May 29, 2014 at 3:50 pmI did a lot with my little one. I took her to the park when it was nice and library time in the winter and when the weather was bad.
Veronica says
May 29, 2014 at 4:55 pmIt is important that toddlers get to socialize with other toddlers. Play dates and birthday parties are a great way to do that
Pam W says
May 29, 2014 at 5:07 pmSocial interaction is so important for toddlers. We sent my daughter to preschool so she could be around other kids. If she was at home alone, she would try to play group games with her dolls.
Sarah Bailey says
May 29, 2014 at 6:07 pmI don’t have kids myself but I know my Mum took me to lots of places when I was a toddler, I think I was very lucky 🙂 x
Tough Cookie Mommy says
May 29, 2014 at 6:26 pmAs an educator, I always stress to parents the importance of creating opportunities for their children to have social interaction at all ages.
Mina Slater says
May 29, 2014 at 6:32 pmI agree, social interaction is important for little ones. I mainly had interaction only with my brother and cousins in my earliest years and luckily I ended up breaking out of my extreme shyness around 2nd grade. It certainly would have been easier I think if I had more interaction with non-family members at an earlier age.
Curby Aardvark says
May 29, 2014 at 6:37 pmSocial interaction is super important at a young age, it makes them not only gain friends they’ll grow up with but will help them not become socially awkward as they get older.
Amanda @ Erickson & Co. says
May 29, 2014 at 6:40 pmI completely agree that it is important for toddlers to have social interaction that is supervised and a safe environment. Thanks for sharing your ideas, I enjoyed reading them.
Rosey says
May 29, 2014 at 7:09 pmI agree that it’s very important to get the little ones around other little ones. I think the interaction alone is priceless for them.
Amanda says
May 29, 2014 at 7:27 pmGreat post! Social interaction is so important! Kids mimic what they see!
coolchillmom says
May 29, 2014 at 7:34 pmwe joined a playdate group and have so many activities I am not concerned about lack of social interaction any more 🙂
Liz Mays says
May 29, 2014 at 7:48 pmI did a few mommy and me type classes through the local university. They were absolutely excellent!
Danielle says
May 30, 2014 at 2:41 amI could not agree with you more. My son was surrounded by adults and had a really difficult time adjusting to being around children. It was almost painful to watch him try to have a full on conversation with a kid his age because most kids his don’t have those types of conversations. He however is the master of small talk, social isses, the news and weather. He is a pretty amazing 6 year old…lol
Babita@BabsProjects says
May 30, 2014 at 8:05 amWhen my girls were toddlers, I used to take them to our local library all the time. I don’t remember doing at lot of play dates, but trips to park and library were on the top of the list.
alice chase says
May 30, 2014 at 9:57 pmwhen our kids were little we would participate in a Mother’s day out program 2 days a week. It was perfect for social interaction with having to commit to a day school.