The opportunity for social interactions with others is very important for the development of all children. Through social interactions, children begin to establish a sense of “self” and to learn what others expect of them. Although social interactions for very young children primarily occur within the family, as children grow and develop, they become more and more interested in playing and interacting with other children. When playing with others, children learn appropriate social behaviors, such as sharing, cooperating, and respecting the property of others. In addition, while interacting with their peers, young children learn communication, cognitive, and motor skills.

Most opportunities for social interactions among young children occur during play. This opportunity to play with others is critical if a child is to develop appropriate social skills. The children must have the opportunity to play together if they are to become friends. These friendships will help form positive, accepting attitudes toward one another. In addition, they will have the opportunity to learn age-appropriate social skills.

This can be a fun birthday activity too!

Steps:

1.  Make cards with numbers on them

2. If you have 10 kids, there will be two #1’s, two #2’s, two #3’s, and so on. Each child has one number card

3. When each number is called out a song (like ‘Ten little pigs went to market’), the children who are holding that number stand up and they can dance however they want to