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social interaction for 3 yo?

snapplegirlsnapplegirl
in Pre-School and Daycare
My DS just turned 3 a few weeks ago and I've noticed that he does a high degree of parallel play with the kids at school. As in he plays along side them, but not necessarily with them. Is this normal or something I should worry about? He initiates play with his little brother at home and he plays interactively withkids on playdates and on the playground, but usually only after they have initiated play with him. Would this worry you?
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Re: social interaction for 3 yo?

  • stellasamstellasam
    My 3yo DS is the same way. He is a shy guy, and definitely not big on intiating play, but he does love his little school friends and talks about them a lot. He's also our only child, and my DH was very similar as a kid, so overall I'm not too worried.
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  • Mrs MannersMrs Manners member
    Completely normal. Ds still does the bulk of his play as parallel play as do most of the other kids in his class (especially the ones without siblings). We laugh because he'll say, "Mom, do you want to play with me?" and when I tell him that I do, he'll give me some toys and tell me to sit over there and play with those toys...that's his idea of "playing with him". Eventually, he will come over when he sees me doing something interesting with those toys and he's also starting to do more pretent play with me (ie. he will cook something and bring it to me and wants me to eat it or he wants to take my order) but his default mode with other kids is still parallel play.
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  • kmhunt11kmhunt11 member
    Cooperative play comes closer to 4, especially for boys.  Some do it earlier, some do it later.  Don't worry a bit :)
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  • jlw2505jlw2505 member
    Totally normal for a 3 year old.  In my DD"s PreK class last year, the kids were 4 going on 5, at the start of the year, many of the kids were still doing parallel play but by the end of the year, they were all playing together.  I think anytime between 4-5 is normal to move away from the parellel play into playing together.
    Jenni Mom to DD#1 - 6-16-06 DD#2 - 3-13-08 
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