Social

Development
 What is social development?
• Socialdevelopment refers to the process by which a
child learns to interact with others around them. As
they develop and perceive their own individuality
within their community, they also gain skills to
communicate with other people and process their
actions. Social development most often refers to
how a child develops friendships and other
relationships, as well how a child handles conflict
with peers.
 Why is social development so important?

• Social development can actually impact many of the other forms of

development a child experiences. A child’s ability to interact in a healthy
way with the people around her can impact everything from learning new
words as a toddler, to being able to resist peer pressure as a high school
student, to successfully navigating the challenges of adulthood. Healthy
social development can help your child:
 Develop language skills.
• An ability to interact with other children allows for more opportunities to
practice and learn speech and language skills. This is a positive cycle,
because as communication skills improve, a child is better able to relate to
and react to the people around him.

Build self esteem.

• Other children provide a child with some of her most exciting and fun
experiences. When a young child is unable to make friends it can be
frustrating or even painful. A healthy circle of friends reinforces a child’s
comfort level with her own individuality.
 Strengthen learning skills.
• In addition to the impact social development can have on general
communication skills, many researchers believe that having healthy
relationships with peers (from preschool on up) allows for adjustment to
different school settings and challenges. Studies show that children who
have a hard time getting along with classmates as early as preschool are
more likely to experience later academic difficulties.
 Resolve conflicts.
• Stronger self esteem and better language skills can ultimately lead to a
better ability to resolve differences with peers.

Establish positive attitude.

• A positive attitude ultimately leads to better relationships with others and
higher levels of self confidence.
 Emotional Development

• Moods and Feelings

Your child might show strong feelings and intense emotions, and her moods
might seem unpredictable. These emotional ups and downs can lead to
increased conflict. They happen partly because your child’s brain is still
learning how to control and express emotions in a grown-up way.
• Sensitivity to others
As your child gets older, he’ll get better at reading and understanding other
people’s emotions. But while your child is developing these skills, he can
sometimes misread facial expressions or body language.
 • Self-consciousness
Teenage self-esteem is often affected by appearance – or by how
teenagers think they look. As your child develops, she might feel
self-conscious about her physical appearance. She might also
compare her body with those of friends and peers.

• Decision-making
Your child might go through a stage where he seems to act
without thinking a lot of the time. Your child’s decision-making
skills are still developing, and he’s still learning that actions have
consequences and even risks sometimes.
 Changes in relationships in adolescence
• One of the big changes you might notice is that your child wants to spend more
time with friends and peers and less time with family.
• At the same time, it might seem like you and your child are having more
arguments. This is normal, as children seek more independence. It’s also because
your child is starting to think more abstractly and to question different points of
view. On top of this, your child might upset people without meaning to, just
because she doesn’t always understand how her words and actions affect other
people.
•It might help to know that conflict tends to peak in early adolescence and that
these changes show that your child is maturing. Even if you feel like you’re arguing
with your child a lot now, it isn’t likely to affect your relationship with your child in
the longer term. But it might be a good idea to develop some ways of managing
conflict to help you through this stage in your relationship.