1.3 How Social Skills Develop from Birth to 7 Years

Explore how children’s social skills develop from birth to seven years through relationships, play, language and adult support. This lesson follows four broad age bands, beginning with babies’ eye contact, smiles and early back-and-forth interactions. It explains how responsive, consistent adults help build trust, attachment and a secure foundation for later social development. You’ll then examine toddlers’ parallel and cooperative play, growing language, limited self-regulation and common conflicts over toys, space and attention. For children aged three to five, the focus moves to empathy, sharing, turn-taking, pretend play, negotiation and early conflict resolution. Finally, the lesson considers how six- and seven-year-olds develop deeper friendships, stronger self-regulation, an understanding of social rules and the ability to solve problems in groups. The video emphasises that developmental milestones are typical patterns rather than a fixed timetable. Practitioners should observe each child, respond warmly and provide appropriate guidance and opportunities for interaction. Read the related CMS Vocational Training guide: https://cmsvoc.co.uk/blog/early-learn... Chapters 00:00 What social skills look like in young children 00:46 Social development from birth to two years 01:44 Toddlers, play and self-regulation from two to three 03:03 Empathy, pretend play and negotiation from three to five 04:15 Friendships and group problem-solving from six to seven 05:02 The practitioner’s role across development