Social Competence

When playing with a peer, your child is developing relationships and learning to effectively communicate, while building both a sense of self and confidence. Language and social pragmatics can be woven into and built upon through play.
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​Children learn to cooperate, manage conflict, and empathy as a result of playing with peers.  When children get into a conflict during play, instead of seeing this as a problem by taking away the toy, try seeing this as a teaching opportunity for your child! By coming up with a plan (often with your child as an active participant), you will find your child may become  more cooperative. For example, asking your child, “How many minutes until                can have a turn?” or “Let’s set a timer.” Then set a timer (phone timers work great!) for that amount of time. When the timer goes off, the child will have more ownership over the moment because they were involved in the decision making. ​