Teaching My Toddler to Say Hello

Does your child struggle with greeting others? Does saying hello and goodbye turn into a long and painful process where you are left embarrassed and unsure of what to do? Here are some thoughts that will hopefully make social interactions more pleasant for you and your child.

#1

Respect your child. This little person is learning how to do things in life and you are teaching them how to treat others primarily by how you treat them. This doesn't mean to allow disrespectful behavior in social interactions, but just to consider the world from their point of view and, whenever possible, go at their pace… within reason. 

#2 

Give your child time to respond. When you first greet somebody, if your child does not seem to want to say hello to them, wait for a minute. Let him watch your interaction with the person and then, a couple minutes later, ask if he is ready to say hello. If the answer is no, drop it. You do not want to lead your child to tears over a hello or a goodbye, that would be ridiculous. But, take note and talk to your child about it later; perhaps practice greetings later with your child.

#3

I don’t believe that a parent should ever force physical contact between their child and someone else, i.e., the classic, “Give them a hug.”  This goes back to respecting your child and their space. As a suggestion, try asking your child how they would like to say hello. You may find that they do it with a gesture or a word that is reflective of their hilarious imagination.

#4

Instead of saying things like, "Say goodbye to so and so" you could say, "Do you want to give John a high-five goodbye?" This way you assume that your child wants to say goodbye and you give them something fun to do while, at the same time, removing any awkwardness in the interaction. Of course, be attentive, because if your child is past the little kid stage, then a question like this might add awkwardness!😂