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Toys for Developing Skills - Social Skills

Why Do Children Need to Develop Social Skills?

A child needs to develop social skills in order to live in the world. Children who develop good social skills are more likely to be popular and less likely to be frustrated with the world.

A child with good social skills is easily understood, has his needs met and will generally have fun. And the more a child can communicate with others the better his social skills will become.

How Do Children Develop Social Skills?

Children that have good social skills have probably learned the art of sharing and cooperation. There are a number of toys that can be played with to encourage your toddler to learn the art of sharing but it won't happen overnight!

Toddlers really only start to play together when they're around 18 months old give or take a couple of months. It's at that point that you'll have to separate two screaming toddlers from a Leapfrog “Baby Tad”.

What Types of Toys Can You Buy to Help Your Child to Develop Social Skills?

Mothercare offers a lovely wooden activity cube that has five sides so there's plenty of fun for all.

You can also buy something like a Little Tikes “Police Coupe Car” and encourage toddlers to share the driving and the pushing. One toddler can be in the car while you encourage the other to push and vice versa.

Outdoor toys can be really useful in teaching toddlers the art of sharing and cooperation. An activity centre in the garden will have lots of things for toddlers to share. Toddlers learn to wait their turn while someone else is on the slide.

See-saws also help toddlers work together and double swingers on a swing can show toddlers that playing together can be fun.

It's important that play like this is supervised and a responsible adult can gauge when an argument has become too heated. At this point it's probably best to remove the toy from play – a little bit of cause and effect learning does no harm.

Baking cakes can be a fun joint activity – using cookie cutter shapes from the Great Little Trading Company. And painting can be quite sociable too. Early Learning Centre has some great sponge painting kits to share.

Wooden toys can also play a part in social learning. Train sets can be great fun to play with when there are other toddlers around. Toddlers can make up their own stories about the trains and even decide on what the track should look like.

Building blocks like the ones from Lego or Stickle Blocks can lead to a level of cooperation and sharing if toddlers can be encouraged to make objects that don't need the same bricks. Building with blocks is not just about social etiquette. It will also help your toddler develop coordination skills.

Social skills involve the ability to role play and to imaginative play. As toddlers grow closer to their third birthday they will be entranced with playhouses and and dressing-up clothes. Toddlers can be inspired by what they see in their books, on TV and what they learn from you. So be prepared to don a police hat and try to fit in the coupe car - or you could sit in the Disney “Princess Playhouse” and be pampered all day!

Encouraging Social Skills – Other Hints and Tips

Here are a few suggestions as to how you can help your child to develop social skills:

• Spend time talking with your child and ask about what she is doing.
• Don't allow too much fighting over the toys – act as the ring master and remove the toy.
• Make sure your child is able to attend toddler groups if they are not at nursery and try to spend time with your child at a toddler group.
• Have some play dates at home where you invite toddlers of a similar age to play – you may want to remove some of your child's favourite toys for this.
• Go to a play park or toddler gym.
• If you can, keep close to mums who gave birth at the same time as you – the children will grow up together possibly creating strong bonds which will help in social situations.
• Let your toddler see you behave well in a social situation.

To find out more about what to look out for when choosing and buying nursery toys visit our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Different Ages section and our Brands section.

To find out more about the different types of nursery toy that are available for each age group visit our Types of Nursery Toy section.

To find out more about the different online baby and nursery toy shops and stores visit our Top Sites section.

You can also find out more in our How to Play with Baby section.