From the first months, the child is already active in its development in relation to others. Each child develops in its own way. What does the social development of toddlers and preschoolers look like?
Self-concept
At around twelve months, children recognize themselves in photos and in the mirror. Shortly after the child can recognize himself / herself, the development of his / her self-concept begins to take shape. The most important part of the self-concept is their age. Next comes sex.
Boyfriends
In toddlers, the ?? friendships ?? quickly change. Around the fourth year, friendships become a bit more solid. These friendships mainly arise because children often meet each other at school or in the neighborhood. In pre-school age, children consider shared activities more important than personality traits.
Social behaviour
Children who are securely attached to their mother, and later to other family members, have experienced that socializing with others is pleasant. These children have developed confidence in dealing with others. Children who are securely attached will later become more positive towards others and thus display social behavior.
Children who are not securely attached have experienced that interacting with others is not always pleasant. These children have not developed the feeling that others are kind and trustworthy. In their interactions with others, children who are not securely attached will often be much more reserved.
Helpful behavior
Around the age of five, the child already shows a lot of helpful behavior: children comforting another child, giving something to another child, warning another child, etc.
In order to be helpful, you need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of another person’s thoughts and feelings (empathy). Because toddlers and preschoolers are often still somewhat self-centered, it is difficult for them to put themselves in the shoes of others’ feelings. Even so, the older toddlers are already doing very well. When parents point out to children the needs of others and show themselves how they respond to these needs, they set the (good) example for their child.
A little brother or sister there
If a second child joins the family in toddler or infancy, the toddler may feel pushed out of place due to the mother’s focus on the baby. The toddler may start to exhibit awkward behavior and urinate in bed again. Proper preparation for the arrival of the second child is important and when the baby arrives, the toddler can be involved in the care of the baby.
Birth order
Everyone knows from experience that it makes a difference whether you are the oldest or youngest child in the family.
First-born
The firstborn has got all the attention of the parents. The parents initially set all their expectations on their first child. The child is very stimulated to do his best and to perform well.
First-born:
- Turn out to be more performance oriented;
- Generally score higher on intelligence tests;
- Have a greater sense of social responsibility;
- Are often more obedient.
Children born later
In general, it appears that later-born children have better relationships with boyfriends than first-born children, with the youngest child in the family having the best relationships with boyfriends.
You can learn a game from an older brother or sister, he or she can read to you or take you on a bike. He or she is the mighty brother or sister that you look up to a bit. The brother or sister also experiences his or her position of power. The younger child, if he wants to get something done with his older sibling, will have to negotiate, compromise to get his way. This negotiation is a more beneficial skill for the social development of the child than the more dominant behavior that older children exhibit.