Social Development in Toddlers

Toddlers are those children who have begun to walk and are 1 to 2 years of age. Toddlers develop many new social skills during this time. They also become more aware or varying emotions. Toddlers are often frustrated because they want to do everything by themselves, but they are not quite physically ready to be independent from their caregivers.

Desire for Independence

• Toddlers want to independent. They may refuse being fed by a caregiver because they want to feed themselves. They may also try to get away from caregivers so that they can do some independent explorations of the world around them.

Playing

• During the toddler stage of social development, the child primarily enjoys solitary or parallel play. Toddlers enjoying playing near other children, but do not quite know how to interact with one another yet. Toddlers often have difficulty sharing. Also, toddlers begin to start pretending during play times.

Anxiety

• Toddlers often experience anxiety around unfamiliar people or other toddlers. They may also start to have anxiety about situations they believe to be unpleasant, such as going to the doctor's office. Toddlers may form an attachment to some type of object used for comforting these anxieties, such as a blanket or stuffed animal.

Temper Tantrums

• During this stage of social development, toddlers may display an increased number of temper tantrums. Temper tantrums usually arise from frustration about being unable to do what they want to do or from their inability to communicate wants and needs verbally.

Awareness of Others' Emotions

• Toddlers may begin to recognize the emotions of others around them. They may attempt to comfort a sad or crying child, for example.