Using social-emotional development activities for toddlers is something you can begin at an early age.
There is so much on our parent to-do list that this is an area that is easy to neglect as often we think that their social-emotional skills will just come about naturally.
However, like all areas of development, we need to teach our little ones about emotions and how to respond to them as well, so they can develop healthy relationships with others as they grow older.
Social-emotional learning activities do not need to be complicated.
They can be easily worked into your everyday routines once you understand toddler development.
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What Are Social-Emotional Skills?
Social-emotional skills are the ones your child needs to interact with both adults and peers.
A child’s social-emotional development starts to form from birth (did you know crying is the first way a child communicates?)
Managing and regulating emotions is also part of this domain.
In infancy, we start to encourage social development by providing a supportive environment where our baby feels safe and secure.
As we move into the toddler years we play an important role as we model prosocial behaviors and emotional regulation.
What Social Skills Can I Expect from 12-36 Months?
Keep in mind that ALL children develop differently and emotional milestones can look different in every child.
Here are a few of the skills that typically emerge between 12-36 months.
Make sure you download the printable toddler milestone checklist so that you can see what other skills to expect from your toddler.
- Uses rituals and routines
- Shows a sense of humor
- Plays ball cooperatively
- Expresses affection
- Shows a wide range of emotions
- Plays by himself for a few minutes
- Tries to comfort others
- Obeys simple rules
- Shows independence
Why is social and emotional development important for a child?
Interacting with others will be a HUGE part of your child’s life.
When they enter school, daycare, or out in the community they will be around lots of other adults and children.
They will need to have skills in order to socialize and play with others.
They will need to understand how to follow rules and directions in order to stay safe.
All of these skills take lots of time and practice to learn.
Social Emotional Development Activities for Toddlers
Label Your Toddler’s Emotions
When big feelings happen, children need to know what they are.
If your little one is mad because it’s time to go inside and they are not ready, let them know that the emotion they are feeling is anger.
Give him some tools to cope with anger such as taking deep breaths or slowly counting to 10.
Tell your child what emotions you are having throughout the day as you are their primary role model.
Examples of Emotions to Label:
- Happy
- Sad
- Frustrated
- Excited
- Scared
- Surprised
Your child may not be able to say or label their own emotions for quite some time.
Telling them their names of them is a way for them to learn the vocabulary.
This is also a great way to support toddler language development!
Using simple pictures can be an excellent tool for children who don’t have words but still need to express how they feel.
Having them point to a happy or sad face that is drawn on paper can be helpful.
Use Books to Teach Social Skills
Almost any book works as a great tool for working on emotional awareness.
As you are flipping through the pages of your favorite story (this is one of my favorites), point out the character’s faces and talk about what they are feeling.
If there is a picture of a happy baby, point out the smile and label the emotion.
You can then model it in real life and smile at your little one and see if you can get a smile back.
As your toddler gets older you can make statements such as “I wonder what makes that baby happy?”
Then discuss the reasons that he could be smiling. Maybe he just got a hug or is about to go outside and play.
There are also lots of books out there specifically designed to help teach social skills to young children.
Check your local library to see what is available.
Provide Opportunities for Your Child to Interact With Others
Be patient and supportive when teaching your child and they will be successful!
Schedule some play dates with friends or cousins to give your child the opportunity to interact with their peers of the same and different ages.
social emotional activities for toddlers do not need to be complicated.
Keep it simple and they will learn!
Attending daycare or preschool is NOT required for your child to learn social skills.
Providing them with playtime with other people and exposure to other social situations is all they need to learn to play with others.
When you are out in the community help them interact with unfamiliar adults and children.
Teach them how to say “hi” and approach new kids to play with.
Use Emotion Cards So They can Label All Emotions
Using simple emotion cards like these seen in the video can be a great way to help your little one learn the names of emotions.
By growing their emotional vocabulary they will be able to label and identify how they feel which is a crucial skill.
Feeling cards like this can be used as flashcards or a matching game if you print 2 sets.
If your child does not have the words to tell you how they feel they can use the “How I Feel” chart to point to what they are feeling.
You can print your own set of emotion flashcards for toddlers here.
Pretend Play Enhances Social Skills
Using dolls, teddy bears, or any of your child’s favorite stuffed friends will work to teach emotions.
Imaginative play can be a fun way to explore topics around emotional intelligence as well as provide a safe environment for young children to talk about difficult situations.
It can be very simple like modeling for your little one by giving the bear a hug and saying, “The bear is happy when I hug him.”
For older children can expand on this by role-playing with them or even having a puppet show.
Maybe the bear takes a toy from the doll, how do they each feel in this situation?
What can they do to solve it?
Maybe one of the options could be sharing.
This is a way to introduce this concept without having an expectation of it.
It may surprise you just how quickly your child is able to learn how to solve social problems.
They may even come up with solutions you would not have thought of!
Children learn and retain information through play so it is one of the BEST ways to teach a new social skill.
Social-Emotional Learning Activities for Toddlers: Model Emotions
If you are having emotions in front of your child…that is ok!
Take a minute and explain to your child why you are happy, sad, or mad.
As parents, we often feel like we need to hide our emotions from our children.
By doing this you are missing out on an opportunity to teach them that it is ok to express feelings and model for them how to cope.
Your child will also learn emotional regulation if that is something that you model for them how to do.
Use Peers to Set an Example
If you are at the park or grocery store with your child chances are you may hear another child either screaming or crying.
If your little one hears them too, take a second and explain to them that the other child is sad or upset so that they learn to have an understanding of emotions.
You can brainstorm with them reasons that the child is upset such as they don’t want to go home or they are not getting something they want.
You can also talk about positive ways you can regulate when you are having different emotions.
By taking the time to teach your toddler emotions they will learn to regulate their own, identify feelings, and build positive social relationships with others!
Help Them Problem Solve
When toddlers are playing together some conflicts may arise.
Try to be there to support and help them figure out a healthy way to solve the problem.
If they are both fighting over the same toy see if they can find a similar one to play with.
Could they take turns with the toy or perhaps a trade could take place?
Could they play with the toy together?
All of these are great options. Talk through the problem with the children and see what works best to solve it.
Have concerns about your child’s development?
If you ever have concerns about your child’s social emotional skills be sure to contact your child’s doctor or give early intervention a call.
Grab your FREE Milestone Guide HERE.
Frequently Asked Questions
Social activities for toddlers include activities where the toddler has to interact with other children or adults.
This includes playing games, imaginary play with others, and social interaction through turn taking and talking.
Being able to label feelings that they are having or see others experiencing. Being able to express and show a wide range of emotions is also an example of emotional development.
Kayla O’Neill has a master’s degree in education as well as a bachelor’s degree in special education with an emphasis in early childhood education. She has been working as a developmental therapist with babies and toddlers in early intervention since 2012. She is also a mom with two young children.
Parenting Toddlers: 29 Toddler Experts Share Their Best Kept Secrets! - FamilyFelicity.com
Tuesday 20th of November 2018
[…] To get all of Kayla’s amazing tips on toddler social skills, click here. […]
Corinne
Wednesday 19th of April 2017
Naming emotions - theirs and our own - is so important because little kids don't understand what feelings are or what they mean when they're young. I love going "old school" and pulling out the Berenstain Bears to talk about emotions and lessons - you're right, books can teach so much!
Pat - White Camellias
Wednesday 15th of March 2017
Really great post full of useful tips. I really like using books when teaching my kids about emotions because I think it's quite a non threatening way of doing so and doesn't put them in the centre of it. Thank you for sharing with #StayClassyMama
Kayla O'Neill
Tuesday 14th of March 2017
Wow! Sounds like you have a smart little guy and you were doing all of the right things! That is so great that you taught him all of that and you could see it in his play...Thanks for sharing!
Kayla O'Neill
Tuesday 14th of March 2017
Glad that you enjoyed them!