Activities to Support Social Development of Toddlers in Child Care
Toddlers learn countless new words and skills between the ages of 18 and 36 months. But, unlike using the toilet or putting on shoes, social-emotional development is ongoing and includes skills ranging from empathy to self-regulation and communication. And, although most children don't play interactively until 24 months old, according to the early childhood resource website ZerotoThree, one of the benefits of a group child care setting is that it gives toddlers plenty of opportunities to practice these skills. As an instructor or child care provider, you can support toddlers' social-emotional development by guiding these experiences and interactions.
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Story Talk
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Pictures and characters can help bring clarity to otherwise abstract concepts like empathy and emotional self-control, according to the early childhood educational resource, TK California. Choose story books where the characters experience toddler-specific struggles, like separation anxiety at a new school or disappointment over not getting to play with a particular toy. Ask the toddlers how they would feel in that situation. Use the characters to build the toddlers' emotional vocabulary. "See? He's frustrated because there weren't any more trucks left in the sandbox."
Cooperative Exchanges
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Games like Duck, Duck, Goose, or Candy Land for older toddlers, not only require taking turns, they also guide the interaction among toddlers with a simple set of rules. Help toddlers identify their emotions and provide positive suggestions for communicating what they feel. "It's OK to feel frustrated because you're behind on the Candy Land board, but instead of pushing Carly's piece on the floor, saying, 'I feel frustrated that I got that card,' would be the better thing to do." For younger toddlers, activities on small seesaws or double push-pull swings help encourage cooperation because to enjoy the ride each toddler must pay some attention to what his friend is doing.
Wise Word Choices
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Set up opportunities to practice effective communication by inviting two tots with similar interests to play together. Guide the initial interaction, "You both love playing cars and Thomas is holding two toy cars. What could you say if you wanted to play cars with Thomas? 'Thomas, may I please play with one of your cars?' or 'Thomas, could I play cars with you?' " Encourage toddlers to accept such requests and brainstorm different ways to include a new player.
Name That Feeling
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Present images of toddlers expressing different emotions and ask the toddlers to identify how the pictured person feels. Happy and sad are relatively easy, but introducing pictured emotions like scared and angry gives toddlers practice at reading facial cues and recognizing another person's feelings. Ask the toddlers to think of reasons why the children in the pictures may be experiencing these emotions and what they could do to make the children feel better. For example, "The girl in this picture looks very scared, why do you think she might be scared? What could we do to help her feel better?"
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