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Social Greeting
Explore the questions families and professionals ask about social greeting.
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Signs & concerns
Assessment & diagnosis
Therapy & support
At home
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Signs & concerns
Caregiver Guide: When a Child Isn't Greeting Yet
Social greeting — waving, smiling back, saying "hi" — usually emerges between about 9 and 18 months, at each child's own pace. As a caregiver, keep modelling warm greetings, weave them into daily routines, and arrange a calm developmental check if greeting isn't growing alongside other social-communication steps like responding to name, pointing or babble. This is not a diagnosis — it's an early, supportive look, because gentle play-based help works beautifully at this age.
Read the answer AnswerAt what age should a child use social greetings?
Children typically begin simple social greetings — waving, smiling back, saying "hi" — between 9 and 15 months, and greet familiar people warmly by 2 to 3 years. Some variation is normal; steady progress in connecting with people matters most.
Read the answer AnswerSocial greeting milestone — age expectations for teachers
Most children respond to social greetings — smiling, waving, saying "hi" — between 12 and 18 months, and use them reliably by 2–3 years. By school age (3–5), a teacher can expect a child to return greetings and respond to their name, often with gentle prompting. Slow-to-warm temperament is normal; flag only if a child past 3 consistently doesn't respond across settings.
Read the answer AnswerCould difficulty with social greeting be a sign of a developmental delay?
Difficulty with social greeting can be one early sign worth watching in children aged 3–7, but on its own it rarely means a delay — shyness and temperament are common reasons. What matters is the wider pattern across communication, gesture, eye contact and play. Watch for greeting that doesn't grow over months, shows up across many settings, or sits alongside limited speech and interest in others. This is to observe and, if it persists, to have checked — never to diagnose at home.
Read the answer AnswerSocial Greeting: What to Observe on a Home Visit
On a home visit, a frontline worker should watch how a child responds to being greeted — turning towards a voice or face, sharing eye contact and a social smile, responding to their name, waving, imitating greeting actions like namaste, and using greeting words as language grows. Take-turns matter: greet, pause, and wait for a response. These are signs to observe and note, not to diagnose at home. Refer to a general developmental check if greetings, eye contact and name-response are repeatedly absent across several months or if parents share worries.
Read the answer AnswerWhen to escalate a social greeting delay
Social greeting — waving, smiling back, saying hi or bye — usually appears across the first and second year, with most toddlers waving by 12–15 months. A frontline health worker should watch and review in 4–6 weeks if greeting is the only concern and the child is otherwise connecting, but refer for a developmental check now when absent greeting comes with red flags such as no response to name, little eye contact, no pointing, few words — or any loss of a skill. It is a reason to assess early, never a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIs difficulty with social greeting a developmental red flag?
Difficulty learning social greeting (ICF d7) is not diagnostic alone, but it can be a meaningful early marker when it clusters with reduced joint attention, name-response delay, limited eye contact or gestural poverty. Refer when the gap persists past the developmental window (waving ~9–12 months, reciprocal greeting ~18–24 months), spans multiple settings or domains, or follows regression. Isolated late waving in an otherwise reciprocal child is usually normal variation. Pair screening with a hearing check.
Read the answer AnswerIs It Normal My Child Isn't Yet Showing Social Greeting?
For most children aged 3–7, a friendly social greeting is emerging and steadying with age. If your child isn't yet greeting, it is often within normal range — especially for shy or cautious children — but a developmental check is wise if greeting is clearly absent across settings or paired with other social-communication differences. This is not a diagnosis, just an early, kind opportunity to support connection.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does it mean if my child is not yet showing social greeting?
Not yet showing social greeting — waving, saying hi or bye — is not a diagnosis. Between 3 and 7, most children greet familiar people, but shyness and temperament vary. It matters most when it sits alongside other social-communication differences, such as little eye contact, not responding to their name, or few words. That pattern is a reason to arrange a developmental check, because early, play-based support works well.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with social greeting?
Between about 3 and 7 years, most children greet familiar people with a wave, smile, eye contact or a simple hi or bye, increasingly on their own. Signs your child may need support include rarely returning greetings, not noticing when greeted, turning away, or needing heavy prompting every time. These are signs to observe and share with a professional, not to diagnose at home. Consider a screen if differences are consistent across people and settings, show little progress over months, or appear with other communication or social-play differences.
Read the answer AnswerWhen do children usually start social greeting?
Most children begin social greetings such as waving around 9–12 months, pair a wave with "bye-bye" by 12–15 months, and greet familiar people more spontaneously by 3–4 years. Gentle reminders remain normal through the preschool years.
Read the answerAssessment & diagnosis
Therapy & support
Techniques to develop social greeting
Social greeting is taught through structured naturalistic techniques — errorless prompting with fading, incidental teaching in real routines, video modelling, peer-mediated practice and visual supports or AAC scripts, all programmed for generalisation across people and settings. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can a teacher support a child working on social greeting?
A teacher supports social greeting through a predictable daily greeting routine, clear modelling, flexible greeting choices (wave, word, high-five), visual cues, peer buddies and warm praise for every attempt. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can a teacher support a student who is still learning to social greeting?
A teacher can support a student learning to greet by making greetings a predictable daily routine, modelling them warmly, accepting any attempt, and using visuals, choices and peer buddies to build the skill in small steps. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat therapy helps a child learn social greeting?
Children learn social greetings mainly through speech and language therapy and play-based social skills therapy, often with occupational therapy support, all reinforced by parent and teacher coaching in everyday routines. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answerAt home
Helping Your Child Practise Social Greetings at Home
Help your child practise social greetings by weaving them into everyday routines — arrivals, departures, mealtimes — through warm modelling, a wave or word, gentle pauses, and celebrating every attempt. Joyful repetition inside daily life works far better than drilling.
Read the answer AnswerHelping Your Child Learn Social Greeting at Home
Teach social greeting at home through warm modelling, predictable daily routines and breaking the skill into small steps — a wave, then eye contact, then a word, then a name — celebrating every attempt your child makes.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Work on Social Greeting at Home
Social greeting grows through everyday warmth and gentle repetition. Model greetings at the door, pair words with a wave, wait patiently for your child's turn, and celebrate every attempt through play. Most children greet between 12 months and 3 years.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is one Everyday Therapy activity to help my child with social greeting?
Use the daily "Hello Routine": pair a warm word with a wave at every arrival and goodbye, pause to give your child a turn, and celebrate any attempt. Repeating it in real-life moments turns a prompted greeting into a natural, confident habit.
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