Early Socialization Aids Brain Development
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Learn what to watch for at each stage of your child's social development.
From day one, your baby is a social being, craving the nurturing touches and smiling faces of his parents. And socialization will continue to be an important part of his life for many reasons:
- His own personal interactions enhance brain development by creating new connections in the brain.
- Watching others teaches him how people interact with one another.
- Socialization will help him make friends.
Watching Socialization Develop
Here are some milestones to watch for and how you can help your little one make the most of them:
6–8 months: Your baby prefers immediate family to all others and may begin to struggle with separation anxiety. Give her plenty of face time and let her have visitors when you're still present in the room.
9–12 months: Separation anxiety will peak. As you go in and out of the room, she'll eventually learn that, even though she can't see you, you'll always return.
13–16 months: Your child enjoys the company of other children but won't want to share his toys. Relax-that's normal. Help him learn by modeling appropriate ways to handle and share his toys.
17–24 months: Your child will watch and imitate other kids. She may engage in parallel play (side by side with her peers) and will want to assert her independence from you. To give her a sense that she's making her own decisions, regularly give her the option of two simple choices, such as "Do you want applesauce or a banana?"
Between the ages of 1 and 2, toddlers are also able to feel and display sympathy for others, says Laura Olson, vice president of education for Kiddie Academy. During the next year, your child will likely be self-centered but later will be better at taking turns and sharing.
How Socialization Develops the Brain
Socialization is key to healthy brain development because it creates bonds that make children comfortable enough to explore their environment.
"Socialization also stimulates intellectual development by improving children's oral language development," Olson says. "Children learn to mimic the tones and sounds of language by being around talkative adults."
Preschoolers that play with blocks together come up with imaginative and creative ways to solve problems, says Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Michael Dow, Psy.D. "When children play together, the neurons are being stimulated to form new connections, resulting in a healthier child," he says.