Playing sociably and learning to share

Why is this important?
Social play takes place in a natural environment, allowing children to
develop and practise their communication skills. To be successful, children
need to understand the rules of turn-taking and sharing. This forms the
foundation of social-interaction skills for later life.

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What to do
• Provide opportunities for the child to engage in play activities with other children
of similar ages by involving the child in playgroups, nursery school, parent and
toddler groups and visiting places where other children play (e.g. the park).
• Set up activities where two children can play together (e.g. home corner, playing
shops, a simple game, taking turns to complete a puzzle).
• Suggest things that one child could give to another (e.g. one child cooking, the
other putting the doll to bed; suggest child one heats a bottle of milk for child two
to give to doll).