Introduction

Social development is the growth of the child's ability to relate to others appropriately and become independent in a social framework. It includes the development of social skills and independence. Sociability is an innate characteristic that varies between individual children and can change over time, but it can be regarded as a prerequisite for developing attachments.

In the real world it's often hard to tell the difference between social and emotional development. They're closely linked with each other and with intellectual development. Still to get a holistic picture of the child it's useful to break down aspects of development in order to understand what's happening.

The parents or carers play a huge role in shaping the early social environment to help the under 2's deal with their emotions in a social world. Most people would agree that if the early relationships between an infant and their care-givers are stable, secure and happy then the infant is likely to develop into a typical well adjusted child.