The preschool and kindergarten years are the best time to help children establish a positive cycle in their social relations. Teachers and caregivers can provide models of interactive skills, set patterns for class interaction, and provide help to children who are in the process of acquiring and strengthening social understanding and skills. The purpose of this paper is to describe the many ways that teachers can contribute to young children's social development. One of the main themes throughout this discussion is the importance of teachers speaking to children warmly and directly, using matter-of-fact, straightforward speech. The first section offers a brief discussion of what is meant by social competence and how it develops; content focuses on four components of social competence and six influences on its development. The second section presents general teaching strategies for helping children achieve social competence, addressing optimal teacher intervention, social difficulties as opportunities for teaching, respect for children's feelings, and 13 aspects of authentic communication. The third section describes 12 specific teaching strategies for helping childen overcome social difficulties, including four related to fostering social understanding and eight related to strengthening interactive skills. The fourth section addresses some curriculum issues that are related to fostering social growth in young children, including balancing individual and group activities, deciding among curriculum approaches, and selecting appropriate types of materials and activities. A list of 65 references is included. (RH)