Your toddler has been interested in other people since they were born, and they have gradually developed skills to interact in different ways. They are now even more aware of the conversations and might join in, even if they don’t fully understand what is happening. For example, if you are chatting with friends and then everyone laughs your toddler might look at everyone and join in with the laughter.
Every family is different and has different ways of interacting and getting along with each other. Some scientists suggest that human babies being born helpless and dependent on others could be viewed as a ‘superpower’! Human development takes many years and as babies are born helpless and dependent, they can adapt to their environment and to their individual family and society. The fact that our babies are helpless when they are born supports them to build relationships with the people around them.[1]
Your toddler might have been copying your actions and gestures for some time, this copying becomes more sophisticated as their cognitive skills develop. They will gradually begin to copy your words and gestures and also think about your intentions. In social situations, this helps them to think about how the people around them interact with each other. When your toddler joins in with social interactions, they are practising what they have seen and beginning to think about other people’s perspectives and thoughts.[2]
Social learning simply means that babies, children and adults learn by watching what other people do, this learning can be linked to a range of skills, not only social skills. Various studies have shown that toddlers and young children show more helpful and caring behaviours when they have seen an adult behaving in a caring way.[3]
Your toddler is likely to learn more about how to get along with others by watching those around them than by being told to behave in a particular way. And beginning to join in with interactions helps them to practise getting on with other people, they might also practise these skills in their pretend play.
Your toddler will develop their understanding of others, through watching and interacting with the people around them. They will become increasingly aware of the social conventions in familiar situations and as they develop these conventions will be part of how they adapt their behaviour.
[1] Addyman, C (2020) The Laughing Baby: The Extraordinary Science Behind What Makes Babies Happy. London: Unbound.
[2] Music, G. (2010) Nurturing Natures: Attachment and Children’s Emotional, Socio-cultural and Brain Development.
[3] Williamson, R.A., Donohue, M.R. & Tully, E.C. (2013) Learning how to help others:Two-year-olds' social learning of a prosocial act. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114, 543-550.