Social Development

Milestones can be broken down into five categories:

Gross motor skills

Fine motor skills

Language skills

Thinking skills

Social interaction
Basic Skills
 Gross motor skills – such as crawling and walking involve the movement and
coordination of the arms, legs and other large body parts.
 Fine motor skills – such as stacking blocks or colouring involve the movement
and coordination of the smaller muscles of the body such as the wrist, hand,
fingers, ankle, feet and toes.
 Language skills – including speech and comprehension are our ability to use
language. Language skills include; receptive language, expressive language,
listening, reading, writing, literacy and comprehension.
 Thinking skills – are involved in the process we use when we are trying to make
sense of a situation or experience. This involves problem-solving; decision-
making, evaluation, memory, organisation, reasoning and critical thinking.
 Social interaction – which is the exchange between two or more people and
how we act and react to those around us. Social interaction involves eye
contact; engagement, emotional regulation and recognition, sharing, turn
taking, following rules and regulations, and the feeling of belonging.
Stages DevThe milestones for children aged 2 months to 5 years elopmental
Milestones Table
 Smiles at the sounds of parent’s voice.
2 months
 Follows parents with eyes as they move.
 Raises head and chest when lying on tummy.
3 months  Starting to grasp with whole hand and playing with hands and fingers.
 Smiles at people other than parents.
 Babbles and laughs.
4 months  Attempts to imitate sounds.
 Holds head steady.
 Rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy.
6 months
 Starting to move objects from hand to hand using whole hand grasp.
 Responds to name when called either by looking or babbling.
7 months  Finds partially hidden objects, such as teddy half hidden behind the couch.
 Enjoys peekaboo.
 Crawls.
9 months  Sits without support.
 Babbles words such as ‘mama’ and ‘dada’.
 Walks with or without support.
 Says approximately 3 words and still babbling.
12 months
 Enjoys imitating people, particularly in language, as well as movements such as waving.
 Pointing with fingers and dropping and throwing objects on purpose.
  Walking independently, generally with a wider stance.
 Drinking from a cup.
18 months  Says at least 15 words correctly.
 Points to body parts such as arm and leg. Becoming more aware of self.
 Starts to parallel play; play alongside other children.

 Runs and jumps.

 Speaks in two-word sentences such as ‘come here’.
 Follows simple instructions such as ‘pick up the ball and throw it’.
2 years
 Starts to develop pretend play skills such as giving a doll a drink and putting a doll to bed.
 Starts to engage more with other children in play, though still does not understand turn
taking and sharing.
 Climbs well.
 Throwing a ball well and starting to catch.
 Speaking in multiword sentences and starts to ask questions such as what, where and why.
 Sorts objects by shape and colour.
3 years
 Starting to play games with other children such as Chasey. Children at this age will not
properly understand winning and losing games though may start to engage in them.
 Starting to manage toileting.
 Eating well with spoon and fork.
milestones

 Gets along well with most new people.

 Draws circles and squares, a basic person, and starting to write name.
4 years  Rides a bike with training wheels.
 Can name friends and some things about their friends.
 Can recall what happened yesterday.

 Able to tell full name, where they live, what school they go to and what
year.
5 years
 Jumps, hops and skips.
 Gets dressed independently, though still learning to tie shoelaces.
Social and emotional milestones

 Social and emotional milestones are often harder to pinpoint than signs of
 physical development. This area emphasizes many skills that increase self-
 awareness and self-regulation. Research shows that social skills and emotional
 development (reflected in the ability to pay attention, make transitions from one
 activity to another, and cooperate with others) are a very important part of
 school readiness
Milestone Birth -2 Months

 From the start, babies eagerly explore their world-and that includes themselves and other
people.
 Babies spend a lot of time getting to know their own bodies. They:
 · Suck their own fingers
 · Observe their own hands
 · Look at the place on the body that is being touched
 · Begin to realize he /she is a separate person from others and learn how body parts, like arms
and legs, are attached

Infants are interested in other people and learn to recognize primary caregivers. Most infants:
 · Can be comforted by a familiar adult
 · Respond positively to touch
 · Interact best when in an alert state or in an inactive and attentive state
 · Benefit from short, frequent interactions more than long, infrequent ones
 · Smile and show pleasure in response to social stimulation
Upto 6 momths
 Babies are more likely to initiate social interaction. They begin to:
 • Play peek-a-boo
 • Pay attention to own name
 • Smile spontaneously
 • Laugh aloud
 Babies show a wider emotional range and stronger preferences for familiar
people. Most can:
 • Express several clearly differentiated emotions
 • Distinguish friends from strangers
 • Respond actively to language and gestures
 • Show displeasure at the loss of a toy
9 months to 2 years -
 As they near age one, imitation and self-regulation gain importance. Most babies can:
 • Feed themselves finger foods
 • Hold a cup with two hands and drink with assistance
 • Hold out arms and legs while being dressed
 • Mimic simple actions
 • Show anxiety when separated from primary caregiver
 Children become more aware of themselves and their ability to make things happen. They express a wider
range of emotions and are more likely to initiate interaction with other people. At this stage, most
children:
 • Recognize themselves in pictures or the mirror and smile or make faces at themselves
 • Show intense feelings for parents and show affection for other familiar people
 • Play by themselves and initiate their own play
 • Express negative feelings
 • Show pride and pleasure at new accomplishments
 • Imitate adult behaviors in play
 • Show a strong sense of self through assertiveness, directing others
 • Begin to be helpful, such as by helping to put things away
2-3 years
 Children begin to experience themselves as more powerful, creative "doers." They explore everything, show a stronger
sense of self and expand their range of self-help skills. Self-regulation is a big challenge. Two-year-olds are likely to:
 • Show awareness of gender identity
 • Indicate toileting needs
 • Help to dress and undress themselves
 • Be assertive about their preferences and say no to adult requests
 • Begin self-evaluation and develop notions of themselves as good, bad, attractive, etc.
 • Show awareness of their own feelings and those of others, and talk about feelings
 • Experience rapid mood shifts and show increased fearfulness (for example, fear of the dark, or certain objects)
 • Display aggressive feelings and behaviors

 Children enjoy parallel play, engaging in solitary activities near other children. They are likely to:
 • Watch other children and briefly join in play
 • Defend their possessions
 • Begin to play house
 • Use objects symbolically in play
 • Participate in simple group activities, such as singing clapping or dancing
 • Know gender identity
3-4 years

 As their dexterity and self-help skills improve, 3-year-olds become more

independent. Most can:
 • Follow a series of simple directions
 • Complete simple tasks with food without assistance, such as spreading soft
butter with a dull knife and pouring from a small pitcher
 • Wash hands unassisted and blow nose when reminded

 Children become more interested in other children. They are now more likely
to:
 • Share toys, taking turns with assistance
 • Initiate or join in play with other children and make up games
 • Begin dramatic play, acting out whole scenes (such as traveling, pretending
to be animals)
4-5 years
 At this age, children are more aware of themselves as individuals. They:
 • Show some understanding of moral reasoning (exploring ideas about
fairness and good or bad behavior)
 • Compare themselves with others

 4-year-olds are very interested in relationships with other children. They:

 • Develop friendships
 • Express more awareness of other people's feelings
 • Show interest in exploring sex differences
 • Enjoy imaginative play with other children, like dress up or house
 • Bring dramatic play closer to reality by paying attention to detail, time,
and space
Review Questions

 Q1 Do all children develop equally ? If yes How ,If no why ?

 Q2 If a child will not socially develop according to expected

milestones ,what will be the consequences ?

 Q3a. Find out any developmental check list for social development .
 b Observe any 5 children between the age of 3-6 years and write your
report about your experiences .
Books

 Child Development (Book Alone) (7th Edition).pdf

 Child Development at the Intersection of Emotio...
 Child Psychology and Psychiatry .pdf
 Developmental psychology .pdf
 Educational and Developmental Psychology .pdf
 Educational psychology .pdf
 Educational Psychology for Learning and Teachin...
 Educational psychology.pdf
 Educational Psychology_ Cognition and Learning,...