North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Emotional and Social Development (ESD)

Subdomain: Developing a Sense of Self with Others

Goal: Children form relationships and interact positively with other children

Skill Progression: Positive social interactions

Age: 21-24 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 21-24 Months.

Demonstrates pretend play directed toward others (at child’s own initiation); may offer cup or pretend food

Situations for Observation of Skill

Observe the toddler when another toddler is close by. Have a variety of routine-based props available for play, such as pretend (or real) food, plates, cups, etc.

Elicitation Strategy

If the child does not interact, stimulate the interaction by giving a suggestion. “Let’s have something to eat. I’m hungry.”

Behavior Observed

The child includes all players in the actions, setting up dishes, offering food, etc.

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Encourage early childhood educators and parents to provide dramatic play props for the child related to everyday activities. These can be paper plates and plastic spoons, anything to stimulate the child’s acting out of daily routines. This type of play promotes sharing and positive interaction among peers.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.