Socio-Emotional Development in the First 3 stages and Strategies for the Classroom and Home

In a previous blog we discussed how prenatal health and childhood experiences influence emotional development in adolescence. I emphasized how a safe and healthy childhood sets the stage for a bright future, this post is not that different. However, this post will focus on the socio-emotional milestones during the first three developmental stages as well as provide some strategies for teachers and parents alike.

Infancy

According to Lumen Learning's Lifespan Development (2020), from birth to about 2 months infants interact with others through smiling as a positive response. From three to five months, they express content through laughter. During these first moths, negative interactions will be typically addressed by crying.

After about six months, they begin to express anger, frustration, fear, and sadness more clearly through facial expressions and distinct body language.

Once they reach the year mark, their facial expressions will be more defined and easier to recognize as they experience new interactions and develop their facial muscles.

Toddlerhood

After 1 year, their social and emotional skills increase rapidly as they gain new experiences. These skills include self-awareness, increased emotional expression, empathy, social play, and independence.

Once children start crawling around, they begin to explore their surroundings, their body, and their abilities. Self awareness triggers their curiosity for what they can do and they begin to realize they are their own person. By the age of 2 they begin to understand that others have feelings and emotions. They might not understand other's point of view but they can recognize when a person is sad, happy, or angry.

This emotional milestone allows them to interact with other, usually through play, sharing, and talking. As their social skills flourish, they will want more independence to explore and learn.

These milestones are essential to begin building a solid foundation for their socio-emotional awareness and intelligence.

Early Childhood

During early childhood, children tend to copy or mimic friends and family a lot, it gives them a model of how they should behave and interact with others. They also show affection without being asked, they understand the meaning of a kiss, and a hug. It is due to them understanding emotions and being able to recognize other's emotions. Children three years and older will demonstrate concern or even try to comfort a friend or family member that shows sadness.

At the same time they understand the idea of property or belonging such as 'my toys', 'Your bed', etc. As they continue to understand their individuality, they might not fight to be picked up/carried or be around mom and dad as much. Most of the time this comes with the ability to dress and undress and feed themselves.

Around the time they are ready to start kindergarten they have a more defined idea of what they like and what they don't like, they are able to compare people and items, aware of their gender, and shows increased independence.

Through their first years of primary school they learn how to think ahead, pay more attention to friendships, and begin expressing their emotions with words rather than explosive actions. Social interactions also creates awareness of others, they want to be liked and be like their friends.

Socio-Emotional Learning for Home and the Classroom

Social and emotional development is not always fun, but we can provide children with tools to manage difficult emotions.

Infancy

Responsive caregiving is the main form of communication and the only form of communication infants know. If you work at a daycare, responding to a child's cry and making sure their needs are met is they main for of building trust and providing them a sense of security. Another strategy caregivers can use is to label the emotions the child is demonstrating to help them identify emotions as they grow.

Parents, the more you hold your child and nurture them, the stronger your connection and emotional bond will be. Which is ideal for setting up the stage for the following developmental stages. Additionally, reading or narrating to your child about emotions in simple language will help them get familiarized with the meaning of words such as happy, sad, angry, etc.

Toddlerhood

As discussed above, toddlerhood comes with a growing understanding of emotions. However, this knowledge doesn't cultivate itself. Care takers can use dolls or puppets to act out different scenarios that portray a variety of emotions and model what they should do with such emotions. Additionally, learning through play is a huge part of this developmental stage, take advantage of it. Organize games that allow children to listen to others and share their thought by taking turns. Not only does this teach them social awareness, it fosters empathy and emotional intelligence.

Parents, reading is essential for children to understand many concepts and gain knowledge, read books about every day situations that portray emotions. Talking over every-day situations allows children to put things into perspective for a better understanding. Reinforcing the concept of taking turns at home through simple activities such as building blocks, puzzles, and hopscotch is also very beneficial for their social development.

Early Childhood

In the classroom, teachers can encourage imaginative play and role playing to cultivate social problem-solving skills. Some effective techniques to manage difficult emotions are also breathing exercises and counting to ten. Always acknowledge and validate their emotions through statements such as "I can see you are angry" or "I know you are upset". This allows them to recognize their emotion allowing for a smoother transition into dealing with said emotion.

Parents, reinforce imaginative play and calming techniques. Having a 'calm down' area in the classroom as well as at home can really help them learn how to manage difficult emotions. Creating visuals of steps for how to deal with different emotions can also provide them with the ability and guidance to calm down on their own.

Remember, a safe and healthy childhood sets up the stage for a bright future!

References

Lumen Learning, (2020). Lifespan Development. NSCC. Retrieved from: https://pressbooks.nscc.ca/lumenlife/chapter/introduction-to-emotional-and-social-development-during-infancy/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021)12. Developmental milestones. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/FULL-LIST-CDC_LTSAE-Checklists2021_Eng_FNL2_508.pdf3

Morin, A. (n.d.). Social and emotional skills at different ages. Understood. Retrieved from: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/social-and-emotional-skills-what-to-expect-at-different-ages