Socio Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers 1

Socio-emotional
Development
of
Infants and Toddler
Socio-emotional Development…
It refers to the developing capacity of the child from birth
through five years of age to form close and secure adult
and peer relationships; experience, regulate and express
emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways; and
explore the environment and learn – all in the context of
family, community and culture.
It necessarily includes temperament, attachments and

social skills.
Formative Years
It is the first three years of a child where it is
considered important in human
development.
Elements on the socio-emotional
development of children:
• Attachment
• Temperament
• The Emergence of the Moral Self

Attachment
It is a term used to describe the emotional
relationship that develops between an infant and
the primary caregiver, during the infant’s first year
of life.
It is a relationship that develops over time and is

the result of many interactions and caregiving
experiences, particularly those in response to the
infant’s needs and bids for attention, comfort and
protection.
Attachment
According to Dr. John Bowly, the father of
“attachment theory,” the beginnings of attachment
occur within the first six months of a baby’s life with
a variety of built-in signals that baby uses to keep
his/her caregiver engaged.
The key to a good start in the social

development of the baby is a lot of responsive
interaction with the baby (K. Pasek and R. Golinkoff,
2003).
Attachment
Other relevant and research findings sited by K. Pasek and R.
Golinkoff quoted in their book “Einstien Never Used Classcards”
• What is absolutely central to babies’ emotional well-being is
not so much feeding but the consistent involvement
of caregivers.
• Children who have good attachment relationships as infants

make better adjustments in a number of areas in future life.
• Infants attach to more than one caregiver and they are

developing emotional relationships with multiple caregivers at
once.
Attachment
Other relevant …..
• Even when children are in child care for more than 30

hours per week, the family contributes more to child’s
social and cognitive well-being than does the child care
arrangement. Parents and caregivers help children
regulate their emotions by working with them and by
serving them as their models.
temperament
A word that “captures the ways that people
differ, even at birth, in such things as their
emotional reactions, activity level, attention
span, persistence and ability to regulate their
emotions”.
Different Temperament Categories …
1. Activity
Level
2. Mood
3. Threshold for
distress
4. Rhythmicity
5. Intensity of
response
6. Approach - Withdrawal
7. Distractibility
8. Adaptability
9. Persistence
To determine a child’s temperament, make the
following observations:
Activity level. Some babies are placid or inactive.

Other babies thrash about a lot and, as toddlers, are always
on the move. At this stage, they must be watched carefully.
The mood. Some babies are very smiley

and cheerful. Although securely attached emotionally to
their teachers, others have a low- key mood and look more
solemn or unhappy.
Child’s threshold for distress. Some babies are

very sensitive. They become upset very easily when
stressed. Other babies can more comfortably wait when
they need a feeding or some attention.
The rhythmicity of children. Some babies get

hungry or sleepy on a fairly regular and predictable basis.
Other babies sleep at varying times, urinate or have bowel
movements at unpredictable times, and get hungry at
different times. They are hard to put on a “schedule.”
The intensity of response in each baby. When a

baby’s threshold for distress has been reached, some babies
act restless. Other act cranky or fret just a little.
Approach to new situations. Some infants are very

cautious. They wary and fearful of new teachers, being
placed in a different crib, or being taken to visit a new
setting. Other infants approach new persons, new activities,
or new play possibilities with zest and enjoyment.
Distraction. Some children can concentrate on a

toy regardless of surrounding bustle or noise in a
room. Others are easily destructed.
Adaptability of each child. Some children react to

strange or difficult situations with distress, but recover
fairly rapidly. Others adjust to new situations with
difficulty or after a very long period.
Child’s attention span. Some children have a long

attention span. They continue with an activity for fairly
long time. Others flit from one activity to another.
Three basic types of babies
temperament:
1. The easy child

2. The slow-to-warm-up child
3. The difficult child
1. The easy child
 easily establishes regular routines;

 is generally cheerful;
 adapts readily to new experiences.
2. The slow-to-warm-up child

 shows mild, low-key reactions to environmental changes;
 has negative in mood;
 adjusts slowly to new experience.
3. The difficult child
 is irregular in daily routines;

 is slow in accepting new experiences;
 tends to react negatively and intensely to new things.
The Emergence of the Moral Self
• A sense of morality presupposes awareness of the
existence of moral standards and the ability to evaluate
oneself against standards.
• According to Professor Deborah Stipek and her colleagues

about 50% of the 19 to 24 months olds (1 year and 7
months to 2 years old) and 80% of the 25 to 29 months old
( 2 years old to 2.5 years old) and almost all 30 to 40
months (2 years and six months to 3 years and 4 months)
olds are capable of self – evaluation .
The Development of Emotions
Early infancy (birth-six
months)
• It is not clear whether infants actually experience emotion’s, or if
adults, using adult facial expressions as the standard, simply
superimpose their own understanding of the meaning of infant facial
expressions.
• Between six and ten weeks, a social smile emerges, usually

accompanied by other pleasure –indicative actions and sounds,
including cooing and mouthing.
• As infants become more aware of their environment, smiling occurs in

response to a wider variety of contexts. They may smile when they see
a toy they have previously enjoyed. Laughter, which begins at around
three or four months, requires a level of cognitive development
because it demonstrates that the child can recognize incongruity.
The Development of Emotions
Later infancy months (7-12)
• During the last half of the first year, infants begin expressing
fear, disgust and anger because of the maturation of
cognitive abilities. Anger, often expressed by crying, is a
frequent emotion expressed by infants. Although some
infants respond to distressing events with sadness, anger is
more common.
• Fear also emerge during this stage as children become able

to compare an unfamiliar event with what they know.
Unfamiliar situations or objects often elicit fear responses in
infants. One of the most common is the presence of an adult
stranger, a fear that begins to appear at about seven
months.
The Development of
Emotions
Later infancy months (7-12)
• A second fear of this stage is called separation anxiety.

Infants seven to twelve months old may cry in fear if the
mother or caregiver leaves them in an unfamiliar place.
• Socialization of emotion begins in infancy. It is thought that

this process is significant in the infant’s acquisition of
cultural and social codes for emotional display, teaching
them how to express their emotions, and the degree of
acceptability associated with different types of emotional
behaviors.
• Another process that emerges during this stage is social

referencing. Infants begin to recognize the emotions of
others, and use this information when reacting to novel
Emotional Understanding
• During this stage of development, toddlers acquire

language and are learning to verbally express. Their
feelings. This ability, rudimentary as it is during early
toddlerhood, is the first step in the development of
emotional self-regulation skills.
• In infancy, children largely rely on adults to help

them regulate their emotional states. If they are
uncomfortable they may be able to communicate
this state by crying, but have little hope of alleviating
the discomfort on their own.
THANK YOU 

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Socio-emotional

It necessarily includes temperament, attachments and

• The Emergence of the Moral Self

It is a relationship that develops over time and is

The key to a good start in the social

• Children who have good attachment relationships as infants

• Infants attach to more than one caregiver and they are

• Even when children are in child care for more than 30

Activity level. Some babies are placid or inactive.

The mood. Some babies are very smiley

Child’s threshold for distress. Some babies are

The rhythmicity of children. Some babies get

The intensity of response in each baby. When a

Approach to new situations. Some infants are very

Distraction. Some children can concentrate on a

Adaptability of each child. Some children react to

Child’s attention span. Some children have a long

1. The easy child

 easily establishes regular routines;

2. The slow-to-warm-up child

 is irregular in daily routines;

• According to Professor Deborah Stipek and her colleagues

• Between six and ten weeks, a social smile emerges, usually

• As infants become more aware of their environment, smiling occurs in

• Fear also emerge during this stage as children become able

• A second fear of this stage is called separation anxiety.

• Socialization of emotion begins in infancy. It is thought that

• Another process that emerges during this stage is social

• During this stage of development, toddlers acquire

• In infancy, children largely rely on adults to help

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