A toddler longs for rhythm, repetition, and activities that feel safe. As a parent, you should continue with your daily rhythm or schedule, and then slowly add a child, or two, or three, into your daily activities. Contact other mothers while your toddler is napping and arrange a playdate at the park or another place where there is freedom to move about and nature or animals to explore. The key is that this is a natural event.
Being part of regular activities the child is used to is calming. The mother doesn’t need to feel stressed about having to make a certain appearance or about being “locked in” to a set period of time. This makes everyone much more comfortable, and when you are relaxed and stress-free, you enjoy the time more.
Until about 20 years ago, most children this age spent all their time at home with their mother and siblings. Play dates and groups are a relatively new concept. The age-appropriate behavior for a child this age is to observe and learn by modeling YOUR behavior.
Toddlers don’t want friends; they want to do what you do! They enjoy hanging on your hip or standing alongside you while you do the dishes, the laundry, or go to the market, etc. These daily activities are learning experiences and a joy for children of this age to participate in.
Reassure yourself that there is plenty of time for friends later. They will have the rest of their lives to interact socially with other children, and in a few short years, they will instead run off to play with other children than to spend time at your side. Don’t worry about your child getting socialized. In the same way they learned to talk and walk, they will learn to play and be social.
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