Friendships matter more now—let's help them navigate this social world.
These activities teach conflict resolution, emotional vocabulary, and the social skills needed for group settings.
Your child plays cooperatively, follows rules in games, takes turns, and has real friendships. They care about what their friends think and navigate simple social conflicts with growing skill.
Provide regular social opportunities and coach through conflicts. Teach feeling words, model problem-solving, and resist the urge to referee every disagreement. Your child is building the social toolkit they'll use for life.
Cooperative play at three years builds the turn-taking, empathy, and conflict resolution skills that predict social success in school and beyond.
Imagination is exploding. Give them open-ended materials (blocks, fabric, boxes) and step back—they'll create entire worlds.
Cooperative play is emerging. Set up activities for 2-3 kids and be ready to coach through conflicts—this is prime social learning.
They want to do it themselves. Choose activities where they can succeed independently—this builds confidence and focus.
Connect activities to books. Reading a story first gives context and vocabulary, making hands-on activities more meaningful.
Draw scenario cards and discuss what to do in common social situations — building problem-solving skills and social awareness.
Build a block tower together, each person adding one block at a time — the simplest and most satisfying way to practice turn-taking.
Set up a simple tea party with cups and a pretend pot — practicing sharing, turn-taking, and social manners through imaginative play.
Use a stuffed animal or real pet to practice gentle touching — teaching toddlers to be kind and careful with living things.
Sing the cleanup song and tidy up toys together — making cooperation feel fun while building responsibility and team spirit.
Carry a stuffed animal on a blanket together without dropping it — a silly teamwork challenge that requires communication and coordination.