Social Development in Children: Stages, Skills, Milestones & Ways to Support It

Social development in children is the gradual process through which children learn to interact with other people, build relationships, communicate, cooperate, participate in groups, understand social expectations, and respond appropriately to different social situations.

A baby begins social development through early interactions with caregivers. A toddler starts observing and imitating other people. Preschool children begin learning to share, take turns, cooperate, and participate in pretend play. School-age children develop more complex friendships, teamwork, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills. Adolescents develop increasingly complex relationships, independence, perspective-taking, and social identity.

Social development is one part of the wider process of child development. It connects with language, cognitive abilities, emotional regulation, physical development, family relationships, education, culture, and the environment in which a child grows.

Every child develops social skills at a different pace. Developmental milestones are useful reference points, not rigid deadlines.

What Is Social Development in Children?

Social development in children refers to the development of skills that help children interact successfully with family members, caregivers, siblings, teachers, classmates, friends, and other people.

Important social skills include:

• Communicating with other people
• Listening during conversations
• Making and maintaining friendships
• Sharing and taking turns
• Cooperating with others
• Participating in group activities
• Understanding social rules
• Recognizing social cues
• Respecting personal boundaries
• Considering another person’s perspective
• Resolving disagreements
• Asking for help
• Working as part of a team

Social development is not simply about having many friends. A child who prefers a small number of relationships can still have healthy social development.

The quality of interactions matters more than the number of friendships.

Children gradually learn that other people have their own feelings, preferences, needs, ideas, boundaries, and perspectives. These abilities become increasingly sophisticated as children move from early childhood into adolescence.

For a broader explanation of how development progresses across different domains, parents can explore the site’s Stages of Development guide.

Why Is Social Development Important in Childhood?

Social development gives children skills they use throughout everyday life.

Children communicate with parents, interact with siblings, participate in classrooms, play with friends, join groups, follow rules, solve disagreements, and eventually develop relationships outside childhood.

Healthy social skills can support:

• Positive relationships
• Communication
• Cooperation
• Friendship formation
• Classroom participation
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Conflict resolution
• Independence
• Perspective-taking
• Social confidence

Social development can influence children’s experiences at home and school. Children need social skills to participate in group activities, communicate needs, listen to instructions, cooperate with classmates, and seek assistance when they need it.

CASEL’s framework identifies relationship skills as one of five interconnected areas of social and emotional learning. Relationship skills include communication, active listening, cooperation, collaborative problem-solving, constructive conflict resolution, and seeking or offering help.

This article focuses specifically on social development in children. The site’s separate guide on What Is Social and Emotional Development? covers the broader combination of social and emotional development.

Key Social Skills Children Develop

Social development includes many individual skills. Children do not master all of them at the same time.

Communication Skills

Communication allows children to express needs, ask questions, explain ideas, participate in conversations, and understand other people.

Early communication may involve:

• Eye contact
• Gestures
• Facial expressions
• Pointing
• Sounds
• Imitation
• Responding to familiar voices

As language develops, children gain more sophisticated ways to communicate.

A preschooler may ask, “Can I play with you?”

An older child may explain why they disagree with a friend and suggest a solution.

Communication and social development are closely connected because children need ways to express themselves and understand other people.

Sharing and Taking Turns

Sharing and turn-taking are common examples of early social learning.

Young children may find sharing difficult because they are still developing an understanding of other people’s perspectives and social expectations.

Games, stories, toys, and group activities provide opportunities to practice waiting, exchanging objects, and participating fairly.

The objective is not perfect behavior at every moment. Children need repeated, age-appropriate opportunities to practice.

Cooperation

Cooperation means working with another person or group toward a shared activity or goal.

Children may cooperate while:

• Building with blocks
• Playing games
• Completing classroom activities
• Creating artwork
• Cleaning up toys
• Preparing a family activity
• Participating in pretend play
• Working on school projects

Cooperation becomes more complex with age.

A young child may cooperate for a short activity. An older child may divide responsibilities during a group project and negotiate how the work should be completed.

Understanding Social Rules

Children gradually learn that different environments have different expectations.

For example, classroom behavior may differ from behavior during free play at home.

Children learn expectations such as:

• Waiting before speaking
• Listening to instructions
• Respecting personal space
• Following game rules
• Asking before taking something
• Using appropriate language
• Avoiding behavior that harms others

Social rules are learned through observation, instruction, repetition, and experience.

Empathy and Perspective-Taking

Empathy and perspective-taking help children recognize that another person can experience a situation differently.

A child may gradually learn that a friend can be disappointed by losing a game even when the child themselves is happy about winning.

Parents and teachers can encourage perspective-taking through questions such as:

“What do you think your friend felt?”

“Why do you think she reacted that way?”

“What could you say to help?”

These conversations should match the child’s age and communication abilities.

Conflict Resolution

Disagreements are a normal part of childhood relationships.

Children need opportunities to learn how to:

• Explain what happened
• Listen to another person
• Communicate their needs
• Suggest solutions
• Compromise when appropriate
• Apologize when necessary
• Repair relationships
• Seek adult help when a situation is unsafe

Conflict-resolution skills develop through practice.

Adults can guide children without taking control of every disagreement.

Social Development in Children by Age

Social development changes as children grow. The ages below provide a general framework rather than a strict checklist.

Infancy: Birth to 12 Months

Social development begins during infancy through interactions with caregivers.

Babies communicate through:

• Eye contact
• Smiling
• Facial expressions
• Sounds
• Movements
• Gestures
• Crying
• Responses to familiar voices

Responsive interaction gives babies opportunities to experience communication and social connection.

Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child describes responsive back-and-forth interactions between young children and caring adults as “serve and return.” These interactions help build brain architecture and support early social and language development.

Toddler Years: 1 to 3 Years

Toddlers become increasingly interested in other people while developing greater independence.

They may:

• Imitate adults
• Watch other children
• Show objects to caregivers
• Participate in simple social games
• Begin pretend play
• Express preferences
• Seek attention
• Participate in short interactions

Toddlers may play beside another child without consistently cooperating with them. This type of play is commonly described as parallel play.

Adults can provide opportunities for short, manageable social interactions rather than expecting toddlers to behave like older children.

Preschool Years: 3 to 5 Years

Preschool children often become more socially active.

They may begin to:

• Participate in cooperative play
• Take turns
• Follow simple rules
• Participate in pretend play
• Develop friendships
• Communicate preferences
• Join group activities
• Understand basic social expectations

The 5 Year Old Milestones guide provides additional information about development and school readiness at this age.

The CDC’s current milestone guidance lists following rules or taking turns during games with other children as one social-emotional milestone expected by age five for most children.

Middle Childhood: 6 to 12 Years

School-age children generally develop more advanced social abilities.

They may become increasingly capable of:

• Maintaining friendships
• Working in teams
• Understanding group expectations
• Negotiating disagreements
• Recognizing social consequences
• Considering different perspectives
• Participating in organized games
• Sharing responsibilities
• Communicating more effectively

Friendships can become increasingly important during this period.

Children may become more sensitive to acceptance, rejection, fairness, and group belonging.

Adults can support children while allowing appropriate independence in their friendships.

Adolescence: 13 to 18 Years

Social development continues during adolescence.

Teenagers may develop:

• More complex friendships
• Greater independence
• Stronger perspective-taking
• More sophisticated communication
• Increased awareness of social identity
• More complex decision-making
• Greater understanding of social consequences

Peer relationships can become particularly important.

Parents can maintain appropriate boundaries while giving adolescents increasing opportunities to communicate their opinions, make decisions, solve problems, and take responsibility.

Social Development Milestones in Children

Social milestones provide general information about skills children may develop at different ages.

They should not be treated as rigid deadlines.

The CDC explains that developmental milestones describe things most children can do by a certain age and recommends tracking development and discussing concerns with a healthcare professional when needed.

The site’s Developmental Milestones guide provides a broader overview of developmental skills across childhood.

Factors That Influence Social Development in Children

Social development has multiple influences. No single factor determines how a child will develop socially.

Family Relationships

Children experience some of their earliest social interactions within the family.

They observe how adults:

• Communicate
• Listen
• Cooperate
• Disagree
• Apologize
• Respect boundaries
• Solve problems

Family relationships can provide repeated opportunities for social learning.

Parenting and Caregiving

Caregiving practices influence children’s social experiences.

Children benefit from age-appropriate boundaries, warmth, communication, consistency, supervision, and opportunities for independence.

The site’s Parenting Skills guide provides broader guidance on communication, consistency, independence, and supportive parenting.

Peer Relationships

Peers provide experiences that adults cannot completely reproduce.

Children learn through peer interactions how to:

• Negotiate
• Cooperate
• Compromise
• Follow group rules
• Make friends
• Handle disagreement
• Respond to rejection
• Repair relationships

Peer interaction becomes increasingly important as children grow.

School Environment

Schools provide daily opportunities for social development.

Classrooms can encourage:

• Group work
• Cooperation
• Communication
• Shared responsibility
• Leadership
• Problem-solving
• Listening
• Peer interaction

Teachers can model social expectations and provide structured opportunities for children to practice relationship skills.

Culture

Culture influences expectations about communication, independence, family relationships, respect, cooperation, and social behavior.

A behavior considered appropriate in one cultural environment may have a different meaning in another.

Social development should be understood within the child’s family and cultural context.

Language Development

Language gives children tools for social interaction.

Children use language to:

• Ask questions
• Make requests
• Explain ideas
• Tell stories
• Join conversations
• Negotiate
• Set boundaries
• Resolve disagreements

Language difficulties can make some social situations more challenging because children may have difficulty expressing themselves or understanding others.

Community and Environment

Children’s wider environments provide additional opportunities for social learning.

Safe play spaces, schools, community activities, family networks, and supportive adults can create opportunities for communication and cooperation.

CASEL’s framework recognizes families, schools, classrooms, and communities as important settings in which social and emotional competencies can be developed and practiced.

How Parents Can Support Social Development in Children

Parents do not need expensive programs or complicated activities.

Everyday interactions can become opportunities for social learning.

Talk With Your Child

Ask children about their day, friends, activities, interests, and experiences.

Give them time to answer.

Listen without immediately correcting every response.

Conversation gives children opportunities to practice speaking, listening, explaining, and responding.

Model Respectful Communication

Children observe adults.

Parents can model:

• Listening
• Patience
• Polite disagreement
• Apologizing
• Asking for help
• Respecting boundaries
• Problem-solving

Children learn from repeated behavior as well as verbal instruction.

Encourage Cooperative Play

Games and shared activities provide natural opportunities to practice cooperation.

Examples include:

• Board games
• Building activities
• Puzzles
• Pretend play
• Art projects
• Cooking together
• Outdoor games

The activity matters less than the opportunity to interact.

Teach Turn-Taking

Turn-taking can be practiced through games, conversations, storytelling, and shared activities.

Young children may need repeated reminders.

Short activities are often easier than expecting a young child to wait for long periods.

Help Children Solve Social Problems

When a child has a disagreement with a friend, adults can ask:

“What happened?”

“What did you want?”

“What did the other child want?”

“What could you try next time?”

This approach gives children practice with social problem-solving.

Provide Age-Appropriate Independence

Children need opportunities to make choices.

Parents can offer manageable options:

“Would you like to play outside or build with blocks?”

“Would you like to help set the table or put away the toys?”

Small choices allow children to practice communication and responsibility.

Encourage Positive Peer Experiences

Children benefit from safe opportunities to interact with other children.

Examples include:

• Sports
• Clubs
• School activities
• Playdates
• Community programs
• Group creative activities

Children do not need to participate in every available activity. Their personality, interests, age, and comfort level matter.

Role of Play in Social Development

Play provides one of the most natural settings for social learning.

During play, children can practice:

• Sharing
• Negotiation
• Cooperation
• Communication
• Imagination
• Problem-solving
• Turn-taking
• Following rules
• Perspective-taking

Pretend play can provide opportunities to experiment with different roles and social situations.

Younger children may begin by observing or playing beside another child. Cooperative play can become more common as communication and social understanding develop.

Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child identifies responsive interactions as important experiences for early social development.

Role of Teachers in Social Development

Teachers have an important role because school provides repeated social experiences.

Teachers can encourage social development through:

• Cooperative learning
• Group discussions
• Partner activities
• Classroom responsibilities
• Peer projects
• Turn-taking games
• Shared problem-solving
• Clear social expectations

Teachers can help children distinguish between ordinary disagreements, accidental mistakes, repeated exclusion, bullying, and unsafe behavior.

Children who struggle socially may need additional instruction and support rather than repeated punishment.

CASEL notes that educators can teach and model social and emotional competencies through classroom interactions and learning experiences.

Social Development and Emotional Development: What Is the Difference?

Social development and emotional development are closely connected but are not identical.

Social development focuses mainly on how children interact with other people.

Examples include:

• Making friends
• Sharing
• Cooperation
• Communication
• Social rules
• Conflict resolution
• Perspective-taking

Emotional development focuses more on understanding, expressing, and managing emotions.

Examples include:

• Recognizing feelings
• Emotional regulation
• Coping with frustration
• Managing emotional reactions
• Developing confidence

The two areas influence each other.

A child may need emotional regulation during a disagreement and social communication to resolve it.

For the broader combined topic, readers can visit What Is Social and Emotional Development?.

For the importance and benefits-focused search intent, link to Why Social and Emotional Development Matters.

Keeping these topics separate gives the site clearer search intent:

• Social Development in Children → social skills, relationships, interaction, cooperation, milestones
• What Is Social and Emotional Development? → definition and combined social-emotional framework
• Why Social and Emotional Development Matters → importance, benefits, outcomes

Social Development and Cognitive Development

Social development interacts with cognitive development.

Children use cognitive skills when they:

• Understand social rules
• Remember previous interactions
• Predict consequences
• Solve disagreements
• Consider another person’s perspective
• Plan how to respond

Language, memory, attention, reasoning, and problem-solving can all contribute to social interaction.

The site’s Cognitive Development guide explains how children develop thinking, reasoning, memory, language, problem-solving, and related abilities.

Social development should not be viewed as completely separate from these areas. Children use several developmental abilities simultaneously during real-world interactions.

Social Development and School Readiness

School readiness includes more than knowing letters, numbers, colors, and shapes.

Children entering school may need to:

• Follow routines
• Listen to instructions
• Communicate needs
• Ask for help
• Participate in group activities
• Wait for a turn
• Interact with peers
• Follow basic classroom expectations

The goal is not perfect social behavior before school.

School itself provides opportunities for children to continue developing social skills.

The CDC’s current guidance for preschool children includes social and emotional milestones and provides practical activities for preparing children for new places and meeting new people.

Social Development and Academic Learning

Social skills can influence how children participate in learning environments.

A child may need to communicate with a teacher, work with classmates, ask questions, wait for a turn, follow instructions, and participate in group activities.

Group projects provide opportunities for:

• Communication
• Cooperation
• Listening
• Leadership
• Responsibility
• Negotiation
• Problem-solving

Social development does not replace academic learning.

Academic learning and social development can occur within the same classroom experiences.

CASEL identifies relationship skills, social awareness, and responsible decision-making as competencies that can be practiced in school, family, and community settings.

Social Development in Children and Digital Environments

Children increasingly interact through digital platforms.

Digital communication does not eliminate the need for face-to-face social skills.

Children still need to learn:

• Respectful communication
• Listening
• Boundaries
• Privacy
• Cooperation
• Conflict resolution
• Perspective-taking
• Online safety

Parents can provide age-appropriate guidance about respectful digital communication and help children understand that online interactions can affect real people.

Digital experiences should be considered alongside children’s broader social environments rather than viewed in isolation.

Signs of Healthy Social Development in Children

Healthy social development does not look exactly the same in every child.

Age-appropriate progress may include increasing ability to:

• Communicate with others
• Participate in social activities
• Form relationships
• Cooperate
• Take turns
• Follow appropriate social rules
• Understand other people’s perspectives
• Resolve simple disagreements
• Ask for help
• Respect boundaries
• Adapt behavior to different settings

A child can be shy and still have healthy social development.

A child can prefer solitary activities and still develop appropriate social skills.

Development should be considered across time and across different environments.

Signs a Child May Need Additional Social Support

Parents may want to discuss developmental concerns with a qualified professional when social difficulties are persistent or interfere significantly with everyday life.

Possible areas of concern can include:

• Persistent difficulty communicating with others
• Major difficulty participating in age-appropriate social activities
• Very limited interaction with peers
• Difficulty understanding common social cues
• Persistent problems forming relationships
• Repeated inability to participate in group settings
• Significant difficulty adapting to ordinary social situations
• Loss of previously developed social skills

A single behavior does not establish a developmental disorder.

Children can experience temporary social difficulties because of school changes, family circumstances, stress, communication challenges, or other experiences.

The CDC recommends tracking developmental milestones and discussing concerns with a healthcare professional. CDC milestone checklists are developmental monitoring tools and are not substitutes for standardized developmental screening.

Parents can speak with a pediatrician, teacher, school counselor, child psychologist, or another qualified child-development professional.

Social Development Activities for Children

Simple activities can create repeated opportunities to practice social skills.

Cooperative Building

Give two or more children blocks and ask them to create something together.

Skills practiced:

• Cooperation
• Communication
• Negotiation
• Planning
• Turn-taking

Story Discussion

Read a story and ask:

“What do you think the character wanted?”

“How could the character solve the problem?”

“What could the other person say?”

Skills practiced:

• Perspective-taking
• Communication
• Listening
• Social reasoning

Board Games

Age-appropriate board games provide opportunities to practice:

• Waiting
• Following rules
• Taking turns
• Handling winning and losing
• Communication

Role-Play

Children can act out situations such as:

• Meeting a new friend
• Asking to join a game
• Returning a borrowed item
• Solving a disagreement
• Asking a teacher for help

Role-play provides a safe setting to practice responses.

Family Responsibilities

Simple household tasks can encourage cooperation and responsibility.

Examples include:

• Setting the table
• Organizing toys
• Helping prepare food
• Sorting laundry
• Caring for age-appropriate household items

The objective is participation rather than perfection.

Common Mistakes Adults Make When Supporting Social Development

Expecting Every Child to Be Highly Social

Some children are naturally quiet, cautious, or introverted.

Being less talkative does not automatically indicate poor social development.

Comparing Children With Siblings or Classmates

Children develop at different rates.

Constant comparison can create unnecessary pressure and may overlook individual strengths.

Solving Every Social Problem

Adults sometimes intervene too quickly.

Children need safe opportunities to practice social problem-solving.

Treating Every Disagreement as Bad Behavior

Disagreement can become an opportunity to teach communication and conflict resolution.

Unsafe behavior requires intervention. Ordinary disagreements can provide learning opportunities.

Expecting Perfect Social Behavior

Children are still learning.

Social development involves practice, mistakes, feedback, and repeated experiences.

Social Development in Children and Overall Development

Social development does not operate in isolation.

It connects with:

• Cognitive development
• Language development
• Emotional development
• Physical development
• Personality
• Learning
• Family relationships
• School experiences

A child uses language to explain a disagreement. Cognitive skills help the child consider possible solutions. Emotional regulation can help the child stay calm enough to communicate. Social experience provides opportunities to practice these abilities.

This whole-child perspective is consistent with the broader developmental approach described in the site’s Child Development resource.

Frequently Asked Questions About Social Development in Children

What is social development in children?

Social development in children is the gradual development of skills that help children communicate, cooperate, form relationships, understand social expectations, participate in groups, and interact with other people.

What are examples of social development in children?

Examples include sharing, taking turns, making friends, cooperating, communicating, participating in group activities, understanding social rules, resolving disagreements, and considering another person’s perspective.

What are the stages of social development in children?

Social development begins in infancy through early interaction with caregivers. Toddlers increasingly observe and imitate others. Preschoolers develop cooperative play and friendships. School-age children develop more advanced peer relationships and teamwork. Adolescents develop increasingly complex relationships, independence, perspective-taking, and social identity.

What factors affect social development in children?

Family relationships, caregiving, peer interaction, school experiences, language development, culture, community, play opportunities, individual characteristics, and the wider environment can influence social development.

How can parents improve social skills in children?

Parents can encourage conversation, model respectful communication, provide opportunities for cooperative play, teach turn-taking, support age-appropriate independence, encourage positive peer experiences, and help children practice solving social problems.

Is shyness a sign of poor social development?

Not necessarily. Some children are naturally quiet or cautious. Social development should be considered through a broader pattern of communication, relationships, participation, and age-appropriate social skills rather than personality alone.

Why is play important for social development?

Play gives children opportunities to practice communication, cooperation, sharing, negotiation, turn-taking, problem-solving, following rules, and understanding other people’s perspectives.

When should parents seek professional advice?

Parents should consider professional guidance when social difficulties are persistent, cause significant problems in daily life, interfere with relationships or participation, or involve loss of previously acquired skills.

A pediatrician, teacher, school counselor, child psychologist, or another qualified professional can help evaluate the broader developmental picture.

Summary: Social Development in Children

Social development in children is the gradual process of learning how to communicate, cooperate, form relationships, participate in groups, understand social expectations, and respond appropriately to other people.

It begins during infancy and continues through adolescence.

Children develop social skills through relationships with parents, caregivers, siblings, teachers, friends, and peers. Play, conversation, classroom activities, family responsibilities, group experiences, and community participation provide opportunities to practice these skills.

Parents can support social development by modeling respectful communication, encouraging cooperation, providing opportunities for friendship, teaching conflict-resolution skills, and allowing age-appropriate independence.

Social development should be viewed as an ongoing process rather than a rigid checklist. Children have different personalities, cultures, experiences, strengths, and developmental rates.

Conclusion

Social development in children shapes how they communicate, make friends, cooperate, participate in groups, understand social expectations, and build relationships.

From a baby’s early interaction with caregivers to an adolescent’s increasingly complex friendships, social skills develop through repeated experiences and supportive relationships.

Parents and teachers can strengthen these skills through conversation, play, cooperation, group activities, modeling, problem-solving, and age-appropriate independence.

The goal is not perfect social behavior. Children need opportunities to practice, make mistakes, receive guidance, and try again.

Understanding social development allows adults to look beyond a child’s immediate behavior and consider the skills the child is still learning. Supportive relationships and developmentally appropriate opportunities can provide a strong foundation for healthy relationships throughout childhood and beyond.