How important is socialization for babies?
Posted on Thu, Feb 24, 2011
As parents we obsess about the milestones, the developmental checkpoints that tell you how your child is progressing in their journey through life. Is my baby really tracking me with her eyes, or just staring into space? Did that roll-over count at 3 months or was that just a fluke? Did those steps my toddler took while holding my hand count as walking or does he need to do it on his own? There are tons of materials dedicated to these subjects designed to put parents at ease, but one subject that does not get the same amount of coverage is the social development of toddlers.
Separation anxiety can be a tough and stressful situation for both the parents and the child. Beginning at a young age my daughter tended to rely more on me than others mainly due to the amount of time we spent together day in and day out. While this is normal to an extent, it eventually began to make daily tasks difficult. My daughter would always want to me to be around, even when my husband was home. At around 6 months my husband and I realized that it was important not only for our daughter but also for us to expose her to more people outside of our home.
Luckily we met one of our neighbors who had a daughter the same age as ours. We began play dates regularly, which helped our daughter interact with someone her own age and helped me have a conversation with an adult. There seemed to be a change in our daughter as the more she would interact with other people, the less intense the separation anxiety appeared. This realization drove us to look for more opportunities for activities outside of our home and with children in her age group.
For quite some time we had looked into classes for our daughter to join, but many of the programs required the child be walking before joining. With our daughter only about 8 months at the time, this was not feasible. We then found Kindermusik at Hearts & Minds Music. After going to a demo session we felt this would be a great way for our daughter to get exposure to more children her age and begin to explore music.
Starting Kindermusik at around 8 months and continuing at 14 months it’s easy to see the improvements in her socialization. She is more apt to be comfortable around other children, and our family and friends. The tantrums when I leave the room are still present but their frequency has decreased. Socialization has not only been key for our daughter but for me as well. Spending time talking with other Moms who are going through the same experiences I am, is a huge resource. Sharing tips and tricks, recipes, activity ideas, or just joking around, the time invested in Kindermusik has definitely paid dividends.
- posted by Lauren St. Onge, Hearts & Minds Music mom