Toddler Interaction

This is a question for parents with one child (or for the first child of parents with multiple kids).

How does your toddler interact with other kids? My doc asked me this today. Elle doesn't really play with other kids but she hasn't had much experience with other kids and she is only 17mths so I assume that parallel play is more common than interactive play?? Elle get's upset around other kids as she is used to having toys etc all to herself and other kids tend to want what she has / not what to share what they have. This seems totally normal to me though...how are they supposed to know how to share and interact until they've LEARNED how to.


Based on Elle's history and my docs knowledge of kids, she thinks she will possibly have some struggles in processing her emotions and in socialising so was giving me some tips about that. She DOESN'T think she has autism or ADHD (we don't think so either!!!) but does think she lies somewhere on the spectrum in that her reactions to the world around her are not "typical". She said that most kids she sees like Elle are totally fine, they just have trouble interpreting the world and are a bit "quirky" as they grow up.

This is good news really. Elle did / does have irritability issues and is quite over-reactive to certain things but is generally a totally normal kid. I'm kinda glad to have a rough idea of what is going on so we know how to move forward.

Sorry!! Lots of info :)

Awww cute! Elle doesn't do hugs, kisses or patience LOL!

Hannah is hugely possessive (depending on how much she has slept) but I assume this is within the ranges of normal - possibly closer to the irratible side of normal but still!

At that age I would expect that she would 'parallel play' instead of playing with other kids. It's only now that Hannah is starting to interact more. When we have issues we just encourage 'taking turns' and *most* of the time it works well.

I would have thought it sounded normal too. It is great that you have seen the doctor and that it is nothing major.

She's too young for playing together and you're right - parallel play is as much as you can ask for at her age.  I'd been told 3 is the earliest that they move past this (but ah, don't we all get told different things anyway!). 

I notice at when I pick James up at daycare that their all parallel play and only a few times I have actually seen James actually playing with someone but most of the time their all kind of doing the same thing but not IYGWIM.

FionaS wrote: I'm confident we are doing all we can to provide her opportunities to play with other kids.

Ah yes, but hanging out with the gremlins might teach her bad habits!