Foster social, intellectual, creative and emotional development of children

The bond between the child and his or her caregivers is the starting point for social/emotional
development. The primary bond is usually with the mother, but with increasing participation of
fathers in infant care, co-bonding is becoming more common.
Bonding begins with the first look between mother and child after birth. This begins the process
of forming an attachment between a child and his or her primary caregiver(s).
Healthy attachment is important because it gives the child a sense of safety and security. This
bond was previously thought to form during the first months of life, but we now know that it can
form at later stages of development, as evidenced by the bonding between adoptive parents and
children adopted later in life.
Parents gradually learn to recognize the differences in how their children cry and can respond
more quickly and calmly to their children's physical or emotional needs.
This shows that the parent is becoming more aware of the child. As children grow and develop, it
is critical that parents remain aware of their child's unique needs and characteristics so that they
can respond appropriately with understanding, reassurance, and guidance and help them learn
how to cope and regulate their emotions on their own. Children's ability to regulate emotions
varies due to temperament, but when they experience empathy and soothing from their parents,
as well as being taught how to self-soothe and coping skills, they will become better at this skill,
and their brain will actually be "re-wired" so that they will now automatically respond to
situations more appropriately.
The formation of self-concept and self-esteem is another aspect of social/emotional development.
Children are very sensitive to the reactions of others from an early age. Smiling is something that
comes naturally. When a parent laughs at something their child does, they usually smile and
repeat it several times. Children will withdraw if they see frowns or are yelled at.
When children struggle to learn a new skill and are encouraged and assisted, they feel supported
and continue to try until they master the skill. They will spontaneously congratulate them on
their achievement. They will then feel more confident and willing to try new things. If, on the
other hand, the child receives negative feedback such as "this is easy, what's wrong with you?"
and does not receive assistance, they are likely to become frustrated, defeated, and believe they
are incompetent.
A child who has had this experience is likely to give up on new tasks and become angry with
themselves. They may even refuse to attempt it. As a result, one child develops a positive self-
concept and high self-esteem, while the other develops a negative self-concept and low self-
esteem.
The development of a moral code is also a component of social/emotional development.
Children gradually learn which behaviors are acceptable in their surroundings and which are
considered unacceptable. When feedback includes why the behavior is unacceptable as well as
what the expected behavior should be in a given situation, children learn quickly. Children's
ability to develop these skills changes as they grow and develop. Parents should be aware of
what is considered age-appropriate for their child in order to avoid expecting too much or too
little.
Finally, humans are undeniably social creatures. Children are inherently social beings. Some
people appear to be better than others at picking up on social cues. Parents should not only
encourage but also participate in social interactions with their children. Some children may
require parental assistance in developing age-appropriate empathy for the feelings of others.
They should prepare children for new social situations and teach them appropriate social
interactions. Children must learn the manners expected in their social environment in order to be
socially accepted. Some children will come naturally to these, while others will require
assistance and encouragement.
Why focus on social emotional development in the early years?
Because of the emphasis on academic readiness, the importance of social emotional development
is sometimes overlooked.
However, a growing body of research suggests that there is a strong relationship between young
children's socio-emotional competence and their chances of early school success (Raver, 2002).
Indeed, research has shown that social emotional knowledge plays an important role in
improving children's academic performance and lifelong learning (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg,
& Walberg, 2004).
Children who are emotionally aware and have good planning skills when they start school have a
lower risk of problems with aggression and anxiety disorders (Greenberg, Kusch, & Mihalic,
1998).
Special programs that promote social emotional learning (see page 4) have been shown to reduce
violence and increase prosocial behavior (SchonertReichl, Smith, & ZiadmanZait, 2002).
Although the significance of social emotional development is not new to early childhood
educators and parents, recent research findings suggest that caregivers should rededicate
themselves to the value of educating the whole child and take an active role in encouraging and
promoting social emotional learning by focusing on key dimensions of social and emotional
development.

Key dimensions of social emotional development

Caring environment: It is critical in early childhood settings to develop warm, trusting
relationships with responsive caregivers. These relationships provide a positive social
relationship internal working model for the child (Dehham & Weissberg, 2004).
Emotional knowledge and emotional regulation: The ability to recognize emotions in oneself and
others, as well as to postpone emotional reactions while channeling these feelings into socially
acceptable behaviors, is essential for social competency.
Infants and toddlers experience emotions and react to them on an affective level during the early
stages of social emotional development. With the development of language and other cognitive
skills such as attention maintenance and reasoning, children are able to respond to emotional
arousal by thinking ahead and developing alternative plans of action.
The act of labeling an emotion aid in the brain's shift to the language/cognitive center. This
creates a "distance" between feeling and action, allowing children to process feelings in a more
cognitive rather than reactive manner. Greenberg, Kusch, and Mihalic (1998).
Although children as young as two years old can recognize basic emotions, particularly
happiness and sadness, they frequently confuse anger with fear. Children between the ages of
four and seven begin to understand more complex dimensions of emotions, such as recognizing
that people can experience mixed emotions or that different people can feel differently about the
same event. Denham and Weissberg (2004).
Social understanding: Around age four children begin to under‐ stand that others have internal
worlds where they keep thoughts and feelings, and that certain events/actions are reasons for
certain emotional responses. This major developmental stage allows for perspective‐taking–the
ability “to be in someone else’s shoes” which leads to the ability to empathize.

Relationship management: The ways children approach each other often depends on the social
knowledge they have acquired about social norms (e.g. how to express emotions effectively, or to
respond to problems in a problem‐solving manner).

Social responsibility: Knowing about emotions is not enough. The goal of social emotional
education is for children to be internally motivated to act compassionately and to develop a
system of ethical values. These values should guide their behavior and stem from the concern for
the welfare of others.
Fostering social emotional development

Create a caring community:

– Establish a positive, supportive climate where children feel safe to express emotions, take
risks, and seek help.
– Model empathy–be emotionally responsive.
– Make expectations clear. Let children know that you expect
them to be considerate to others.
– Set clear limits. Establish a few simple basic rules (e.g. “Hurting others is not allowed”).
– Guide children’s behavior by providing reasons (“I cannot let you do this because it is not
safe”).

Actively teach emotional literacy:

Use “an emotional vocabulary’ in context. Start with basic emotions and gradually move to more
complex ones.
Involve children in the process of identifying and expressing emotions. Ask: “What makes you
feel angry?” “How can you tell when you are angry, sad, scared?”

Research into practice

Focus attention on children’s facial expressions, voice, and posture for different emotions.
Use stories to infer and discuss characters’ thoughts and emotions “How do you think the
princess feels? Why?” “What happened in the story that made her feel like this?” “What can she
do?” Stories can also be used for looking at problems from different perspectives.

Facilitate social understanding:

Take advantage of teachable moments to explain the concept of accidents as opposed to
intentional aggression.
Help identify the impact of actions and events on feelings (“How do you think Jamie feels about
his dad going away?”). Considering another’s emotional viewpoint is the beginning of empathy.

Support emotional regulation and self‐control:

Play games that encourage control of body parts (“Simon Says”, “Stop and Freeze” movement
games).
Help children find ways to stay calm while encountering a strong emotional response (e.g. taking
a deep breath, pro‐ viding a “quiet area”).
Demonstrate emotional regulating techniques with puppets, and role‐play to practice emotional
regulation.
Separate emotions from actions. All emotions are ok but not all behaviours (it is perfectly normal
to get angry, but not ok to hurt another).
Guide relationship management:
Reinforce basic social skills, such as turn‐taking, and greeting.
Coach children through solving social problems: identify problem, acknowledge emotions, elicit
ways to solve the problem, and assess solution.
Provide skills for joining a group of children. Listen and observe before entering the game.
Open a dialogue with children about important social concepts such as “friendship.”

Build a socially responsible community:

Include daily discussions about social problems, where emotions are expressed and listened to.
Get children to think about moral issues: helping families in storms, or a sick friend.
Focus attention on the community as a whole. Send the message that if one of us is unhappy it
affects us all.
Cultivate positive emotions. Find a local hero as an example to follow.

Examples of programs that promote social emotional development:

Roots of empathy is a classroom‐based program that aims to reduce aggression through the
fostering of empathy and emotional literacy. The program reaches children aged 3 to 14 years.
The heart of the program is a neighborhood infant and parent who visit the classroom once a
month for the full school year. Students are coached to observe and interact with the baby. They
learn about the infant’s development and needs.
Safe Spaces is a program for 3 to 5 years old that aims to teach young children the skills they
will need to resist and prevent bullying. The program focuses on four areas: developing self-
esteem, promoting empathy, fostering critical thinking, and empowering children to stand up for
themselves and others. (Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre, BC)
PATHS Curriculum Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Curriculum (Kusche &
Greenberg, 1994) was designed to promote social and emotional competence and prevent
aggression. Using an analogy to a turtle that retreats into its shell children are taught how to calm
down, increase awareness of emotional state, discuss their feelings, plan and think ahead, and
finally, to consider how behavior affects others.
REFERENCES
https://www.thestagenewwest.ca/the-importance-of-fostering-social-emotional-development-in-
the-early-years/
https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/social-emotional-development-in-children-
and-adolescents/