Greetings and Welcomes among Toddler Peers in a Norwegian Barnehage

This article focuses upon greetings and welcomes among one and two year old peers who meet regularly throughout a year in the context of a Norwegian barnehage (day care). The results show that about half of the toddler greetings may be paralleled to well-known forms of distant and close greeting across cultures, 21% were found to be essentially childlike and often involved prolonged greeting "ceremonies", indicating that a specific culture of welcoming may emerge among toddler peers meeting over time. The social significance of greeting in general and especially of toddler peer greeting is discussed.