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Socializing

Is Your Child Having Difficulty Making Friends?

Social skills in childhood are the group of abilities your child needs to make friends. 

These abilities include perspective-taking, empathy, play skills, sharing and collaboration skills, and communication skills. 

Social development progresses from the early skills of parallel play, to conversation, and finally into the ability to develop deep and lasting friendships. Children having difficulty with social skills likely need help finding common interests with others, starting conversations, or taking the perspective of others. Trouble with social skills can be a trying and even heart-breaking experience for a child and family.

In this section, you will find topics like social presence, conversations, perspective-taking, and insight. Visit this page for general information on social skills.

Little boy playing with toy dinosaurs while sitting near his mom.
Creative Play

Does Your Child Not Play Pretend or Make-Believe?

A group of children in an open field running towards bubbles.
Girl holding her hands over her eyes.
Four kids sitting around a pizza box enjoying their slices.
Young boy dressed like a business man with suit and coffee cup.
Two girls hold their arms above their heads, holding each others' hands to form an infinity loop.
Young girl with pigtails looks defiantly at the camera.
Teen boy is pensively looking down with his fingers interlocked.
One young child shows a toy elephant to another young child.
Two teens are looking excitedly at a paper one of them is holding.
Girl staring at the camera while resting her chin on her right hand.
Two children at a creek looking at the water through magnifying glasses.
Two kids sharing headphones.
Two young girls having a conversation.
Group of young ballerinas hugging.
Two boys playing in the water.
Two young boys walking side by side.
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Understanding