Starting a Relationship with Your Baby: Your Child’s Social Development

Starting a Relationship with Your Baby: Your Child’s Social Development

0

Is your baby becoming a bit of a flirt, gazing at those around him and smiling and cooing? It’s not unusual for babies to act this way at 3-6 months old as they develop their Building Relationships skills and become more socially interactive with those around them. Even this young, your child’s social development is occurring. At this age, it’s common to see your baby take delight in connecting with people by observing their actions and seeking attention to start meaningful interactions.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

How Your Baby Exhibits Social Development

Although he may still be for the most part immobile, he is finding new ways to reach out to you and those around him. You may find him enjoying more face time with you as he gazes sweetly into your eyes, babbling and squealing in an attempt at having a conversation with you,1 or stretching his arms out to you to start play time together. As your baby gets older, he will go from using involuntary or uncontrolled facial expressions to practicing more and more thoughtful and complex ones as he learns different ways to communicate.2

During this same period, your baby will begin to notice and take interest in other children.1 You may see him trying to grab the attention of a nearby toddler or baby by making noises or waving a hand. He will be interested in what other children are doing, watching them and reacting to their actions with laughter, squeals, and movements of his own. Because he’s eager to interact with other children, he may try to have a “conversation” them or want to touch the face, hair, or hands of another child if approached.

At this age, your baby has a strong desire to build his relationship with you.3 As a result, he will copy your sounds and movements because he wants to be “just like” mom or dad. So be sure to always model affectionate and positive behaviors, because you can count on him watching you closely and trying to mimic everything you do from now on.

Play Tips for Building Relationships:

Do you want to know how you can support your baby’s development of these Building Relationships skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

  1. Have positive conversations with your baby throughout the day.1 One of the best ways you can help support your baby’s relationship building and social interaction skills is through positive communication. So talk up a storm to build his confidence.
  2. Respond to your infant’s “baby talk” and playful gestures. When he reaches out to you for attention, respond to him with warm and inviting words, gestures, and eye contact. Every social interaction your baby experiences will result in a development in his brain. So remember, you help support healthy brain development every time you respond to his coos and squeals, return his smile, and support his basic needs.2
  3. Allow your baby to observe and interact with other children.4 Schedule play dates with infants or young children and their parents. While they will not play together for quite some time, your baby will enjoy being near other children and learn from their behaviors as he watches them play and laugh.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Developmental Milestones:

Has your baby achieved the following Building Relationships developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) he has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s  developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

  • Responds to affection and enjoys being spoken to.
  • Likes playing with others, especially parents.

Sources:

1Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age.

2Nugent, Dr. Kevin, and Morell, Abelardo (2011). Your Baby Is Speaking to You. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

3Florida Partnership for School Readiness (2004). Florida Birth to Three Learning and Developmental Standards.

4Washington State Department of Early Learning (2012). Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines: Birth through 3rd Grade.

Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee
Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

Latest posts by Playful Bee (see all)

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Want the latest news and research on developmental learning and brain stimulating activities to do at home with your child? Join Playful Bee here or subscribe to our blog!

+ There are no comments

Add yours