Is your toddler defying rules? Are they often hostile or aggressive towards others? Do they vandalise or break objects, and perhaps even lie about it afterwards?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, your child might be displaying signs of anti-social behaviour. While it can appear at any age, its earliest signs often present themselves during toddlerhood.
This may make more sense when you consider what happens in these early years. Between the ages of 2 and 3, children develop a wide range of skills, including language and movement. They also start to assert their independence as they discover their ability to do and say things on their own.
In some cases, this heightened sense of individuality and independence can lead to anti-social behaviours. While this might be worrying to parents, it’s a challenge that can be managed and overcome, as we’ll explain below.
The Importance of Social Skill Development in Toddlers
Social abilities are vital to children as they include the ability to communicate effectively, get along with others, understand different perspectives, work together towards common goals and resolve conflicts peacefully.
Anti-social behaviour can hinder all of that. It can become a lasting obstacle too, causing some children to struggle with collaboration, communication and interaction well into adulthood.
To be fair, anti-social behaviour in toddlerhood isn’t always a predictor of similar behaviour later on in life. However, it can persist, which is why parents should address it as soon as it appears.
Signs of Anti-social Behaviour in Toddlers
Here are common signs of anti-social behaviour in children aged 2 to 3:
Defiance of rules
or authority
Aggression
towards others
Vandalism
Theft
Deception
Cruelty towards animals
Lack of guilt after doing something “prohibited”
Low interest in social interaction
How to Address Antisocial Behaviour in Toddlers
As we’ve said earlier, anti-social behaviour in toddlerhood doesn’t mean your child will be anti-social forever. There are ways to address that behaviour and help your child develop social skills. Parents can also teach and model social skills that children will pick up over time!
Here are some activities we recommend for 2 and 3-year-olds that will build their social skills – slowly but surely.
1. Attend playdates
Playdates are great for introducing children to the concept of spending time with people outside their immediate family. When done right, these can also teach them that meeting and interacting with new people can be fun!
For playdates, start small. Invite just one to two friends with children, or perhaps family members of the same age. This can help prevent your child from being overwhelmed by new experiences and people.
Provide age-appropriate toys (and at the right times, refreshments!) for the little ones to encourage interaction. You can even demonstrate ways to play with the other parent first, showing the children the concept of peaceful sharing and collaboration before they get in on the action themselves.
1. Attend playdates
Playdates are great for introducing children to the concept of spending time with people outside their immediate family. When done right, these can also teach them that meeting and interacting with new people can be fun!
For playdates, start small. Invite just one to two friends with children, or perhaps family members of the same age. This can help prevent your child from being overwhelmed by new experiences and people.
Provide age-appropriate toys (and at the right times, refreshments!) for the little ones to encourage interaction. You can even demonstrate ways to play with the other parent first, showing the children the concept of peaceful sharing and collaboration before they get in on the action themselves.
2. Get involved in group activities
These can be organised through your child’s preschool, various enrichment programmes or even parent-child workshops that involve group participation.
The idea is to expose your child to larger groups of people while getting them engaged in fun or hands-on activities. This helps keep them entertained while letting them get used to group dynamics and associating group interactions with fun.
3. Encourage structured play
Structured play refers to activities with a clear goal and rules for achieving it. This encourages children to follow instructions and rules, showing them that there can be a payoff for doing so.
You can implement this during playdates to further promote social skill development. At Star Learners, we use structured play in most of our hands-on daily activities and team games. We’ve seen it help children understand the concept of sharing and the idea of taking turns and teamwork, all while being mindful of instructions given.
3. Encourage structured play
Structured play refers to activities with a clear goal and rules for achieving it. This encourages children to follow instructions and rules, showing them that there can be a payoff for doing so.
You can implement this during playdates to further promote social skill development. At Star Learners, we use structured play in most of our hands-on daily activities and team games. We’ve seen it help children understand the concept of sharing and the idea of taking turns and teamwork, all while being mindful of instructions given.
4. Try role-play and pretend play
Role-play is an excellent way to develop social skills because it mimics real-life scenarios where children actually learn such skills. For example, role-playing as part of a team allows children to understand and practise collaboration.
Such play also doubles up as a way to teach empathy as children learn more about others’ feelings and motivations when they put themselves in another’s shoes. It can help them understand social roles, even yours, if they role-play as a parent!
Additional Tips for Supporting Toddlers’ Social Skill Development
Here are some other tips to further support your child’s social development:
Encourage positive social
interactions and reward
your child for them
Model appropriate
social behaviour for your
child to emulate
Be patient if your child faces social challenges and try to understand the underlying reasons before jumping to conclusions
Talk to your child often
to understand why they
might struggle socially
At Star Learners, our educators strongly support the development of social skills amongst the children under their care. This helps encourage healthy relationships and interactions between children and with their teachers as their caregivers.
Additional Tips for Supporting Toddlers’ Social Skill Development
Here are some other tips to further support your child’s social development:
At Star Learners, our educators strongly support the development of social skills amongst the children under their care. This helps encourage healthy relationships and interactions between children and with their teachers as their caregivers.
Let Us Help Develop Your Child’s Social Skills
The activities recommended above are meant to support your child’s social development, while keeping anti-social behaviour at bay. However, if you need additional guidance, consider enrolling your child with us at Star Learners.
Our centres offer a wide range of programmes that support children’s social development. It is an integral part of our comprehensive curriculum, which stimulates children’s growth in multiple ways. To learn more about how our programmes can help with your child’s social development, enquire with us or register for a virtual tour at any of our 44 Star Learners centres island-wide!
