It is easy to see how people relate to each other, but how do babies do it?
As soon as we are born, we are already socialising. From the very first moment, the baby relates to its mother and father and then ‘gets to know’ more people in its environment.
However, this ability to socialise is limited because at first the baby has to discover itself and mainly relates to its immediate environment. In addition, during this first year, he will discover the world around him. It will be from the age of two that they will begin to socialise with other children. But how do children socialise in their first years of life?
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and extends the freedom of others”.
Nelson Mandela
In the first months of life, babies socialise unconsciously through looks, smiles, noises, hand movements or trying to imitate your gestures. Little by little, they will become aware of their actions and will start to communicate with the people around them.
Around the age of one year, babies are still discovering themselves, so they do not interact much with other children. This is seen when several children are together, they all play together, but each with his own toy and not with each other. However, he may show interest in other babies, but will limit himself to smiling, making noises or trying to touch them. In addition, in these months he may suffer from so-called ‘stranger anxiety’, becoming nervous if his mother is not around.
With the development of language, there is a great advance in socialisation. After the first year of life, he will gradually seek the company of other children to imitate or look at. However, he will continue to seek to assert himself so, as a rule, he will not share his toys. It will be between two and three years of age when he will begin to interact with other children in a more conscious way, seeking collective play. It is also at this time that the child begins to incorporate rules of sociability (greetings, please, thank you, etc.).
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