Social Development While Social Distancing

It’s been a few months since many of us have been social distancing.  Many businesses are still closed across the country. A trip to the grocery store may be the highlight of your week.  Not because this is when you’re getting your snacks but because it’s an acceptable reason to escape your own walls for a few hours.

If you’re a parent, your quarantine woes are probably more intense.  If you’re a parent of a toddler, you’re in a class all your own.  Not only are you the guardian - you’re also now the teacher, daycare, and the entertainment. 

For toddlers, this time in their life is crucial for mental, emotional and social development. But how do you help maintain your toddler’s social development when we’re socially distancing?  Social skills are more easily learned around other people.  Learning how to deal with things like sharing, taking turns, and learning to accept a win or a loss is difficult to teach in quarantine…but not impossible. 

Time to think out of the box.

Sure, you’re not physically near many other people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t interact.  Whether it’s a phone call, a text, a video chat or a Zoom virtual playdate the importance of that interaction cannot be overstated.  Child psychologists agree that a virtual playdate can help enforce things like making eye contact and understanding body language.   

When you’re alone with your child, try perspective taking.  For example, if you’re listening to an Audible book, press pause and ask your toddler how they think the character feels.  You can do this with movies and tv shows too.  

Along similar lines is character play.  Take a whole bunch of different toys and put those characters in different scenarios.  Consider having a birthday party for Peppa!

 For something a little more organic, have a family game night.  Board games, especially, are really fun for toddlers and teach them about taking turns and following the rules.  

The underlying theme here is togetherness.  It’s definitely easy for parents to hand a tablet over or turn the tube on, but that’s not what our toddlers need.  Try to include them in as much of your day as possible, maintain a routine and try to make things fun.  

We’ll see you on the other side!