Babies start to develop relationships with the people around them right from birth, but the process of learning to communicate, share, and interact with others takes many years to develop.  Developing the ability to control your emotions and behavior is also a long process. Children continue to develop their social-emotional skills well into their teenage years, or even young adulthood.

Below are some of the typical developmental milestones for social-emotional skills. After each age group, you can find some “red flags” that might indicate a concern.

Please also see communication skills for more information about early development because speech and language skills are so important for effective social development.

Between the ages of 0-3 months, your baby will:

See clearly within 13 inches from her face

Be comforted by a familiar adult

Respond positively to touch

Quiet when picked up

Listen to voices

Smile and show pleasure in response to social stimulation

Between the ages of 3-6 months, your baby will:

Give warm smiles and laughs

Recognize faces

Cry when upset and seek comfort

Show excitement by waving arms and legs

Notice a difference between two people based on the way they look, sound, or feel

Smile at herself in the mirror

Enjoy looking at other babies

Pay attention to her own name

Laugh aloud

Between the ages of 6-9 months, your baby will:

Express several different clear emotions

Play games like Peek-a-boo

Show displeasure at the loss of a toy

Respond to you when you talk to her or make gestures

Start to understand your different emotions (for example, your baby might frown when you speak in an angry tone of voice)

Show more comfort around familiar people, and anxiety around strangers

Possibly comfort herself by sucking thumb, or holding a special toy or blanket

Red Flags for Social-Emotional Development (9 months)

If you notice some of the following things by the time your baby is 8-9 months old, you may want to talk to your doctor, or to another health professional such as an Infant Development Consultant, speech-language pathologist, or occupational therapist.

• Your child is not responding to sounds
• Your child is not smiling or responding to you the way you expect
• Your child avoids close contact or cuddling
• Your child is inconsolable at night
• Your child can’t seem to self-soothe or calm herself
• Your child has no interest in games like peek-a-boo

Between the ages of 9-12 months, your baby will:

• Show happiness to see her parents’ face, her toys, or a mirror
• Know strangers from his family, and cry when his parent goes away
• Give affection and love
• Pay attention to simple commands such as "no" and "give it to me"
• Respond by turning to look when you call her name
• Imitate some of your actions (e.g. waving, pretending to talk on the phone)
• Have fear with new situations
• Understand the word “no”, but will not always obey

Red Flags for Social-Emotional Development (12 months)

If you notice some of the following things by the time your baby is 12 months old, you may want to talk to your doctor or to another health professional such as an Infant Development Consultant, speech-language pathologist, or occupational therapist

• He is not showing interest in other children his age
• She does not respond to you the way you expect her to
• He has extreme difficulty waiting for something he wants
• She is very rigid about her routine, food items, clothing, etc
• He has limited or fleeting eye contact with others
• She does not imitate any of your actions
• She does not respond when you call her name
• He does not follow your point when you try to show something, or bring attention to something
• She doesn’t take turns in a simple turn-taking game like chase or peek-a-boo

If you have concerns about your child, please feel free to contact us to speak to a professional. You can also make a referral to our program at anytime.

All of the milestone information has been adapted with permission from the Children's Therapy and Family Resource Centre.