Thursday, April 3, 2008

Our Social Butterfly.

"Does David like playing with other kids?". I've been asked this question more times than David can count (and he counts past 30). I have asked back "Do two year olds really play with each other or simply interact with one another?" I've learned from different sources that even though the little kids might acknowledge each other's presence, they don't really play with one another -- at least not when they're very young. So far, socializing with his friends for David, meant running after them, trying to out-screech them or playing ball with them. He's always loved the company of other kids though, especially the older ones.
A couple of months ago, a friend of mine, whose son goes to school with David, told me that after asking their teacher if her son has any friends, the teacher replied "I guess David is his friend since every kid wants to play with David". What?!? Were they talking about our little terror? Seth and I started analyzing this. We thought there had to be a correlation between expressive language and having friends, but it looks like we were mistaken. The kids love to run around, ride tricycles and David is good at that. Could it be that he's animated and silly that the other kids find him entertaining/amusing?
Today, as I came to pick him from school, he and another boy were sitting on a floor playing with building toys together. There wasn't any screeching or the usual silliness he displays at home. Without him noting me, I moved closer and I heard them exchanging a few words back and forth. They were communicating! Oh, it was the best sight ever. I took my time signing him out so I could watch them play and take it all in. For a split second I wished David had a twin brother. As always, he didn't want to leave, but this time I could understand why.
It is important to have friends in life and I hope David has a lot of them.



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