Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Social and Emotiona Development Childhood
Social and Emotiona Development Childhood
Childhood?
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
This content is licensed under a RAND Corporation License. To view a copy of this license, visit
https://www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html.
RAND Corporation is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Off
to a Good Start
C
QA child’s brain doubles in size in
hildren’s experiences in their earliest years affect the first year, and by age three
how their brains work, the way they respond it reaches 80 percent of its adult
to stress, and their ability to form trusting volume [1, 2].
relationships. During these years the brain QTheback-and-forth interactions of
undergoes its most dramatic growth, setting the babies and adults shape a baby’s
stage for social and emotional development. brain architecture, supporting the
Language blossoms, basic motor abilities form, development of communication
and social skills [3, 4].
thinking becomes more complex, and children
begin to understand their own feelings and those of others. QWhat happens in the first years of
life is directly related to children’s
From the first day of life to the first day of school, a child grows at a long-term cognitive, emotional,
phenomenal pace. and social outcomes through
adulthood [3, 4].
http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/firstyears
http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/why-0-3
http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/perceptions/soft-skills-and-success-go-hand-in-hand
immediate impulses.
FIGURE 1.1
Emotional
Physical
Cognitive
Social
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
from birth through four years old
BIRTH TO 3 3 TO 6 6 TO 9
MONTHS MONTHS MONTHS
From the start, babies eagerly Babies are Babies show a wider Imitation
explore their world, including more likely to emotional range and stronger and self-
themselves and other people. initiate social preferences for familiar regulation gain
They can: interaction. people. Most can: importance.
They begin to: Most can:
Be comforted Smile and Play peek-a- Smile Express Distinguish Mimic simple
by a familiar show pleasure boo spontaneously several clearly friends from actions
adult in response differentiated strangers
to social emotions
interaction
Figure 1.2 provides examples of key social and development, encourage them to speak to
emotional milestones for young children. Children their pediatrician.
develop in all of these areas of growth from birth
through four years. These milestones help us know
whether children are developing “on time.” They also Want to know more?
help us know what to expect children to understand For a full list of milestones, go to
and do at certain ages.
http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/abc/social.html
Show anxiety Show pride Show a strong Develop Show Initiate or join Share toys
when and pleasure sense of notions of awareness in play with
separated at new accom- self through themselves of their own other children
from primary plishments assertiveness, as good, bad, feelings and
caregiver directing attractive, etc. feelings of
others to do others
things
z Easy babies, for example, have regular sleeping infant demands attention through crying, fits,
times, are easily soothed when upset and are or whimpering most of the time, this may be a
generally positive. sign of a difficult temperament. And, together
z Slow-to-warm-up babies are more hesitant in these behaviors make caring for difficult babies
new situations and with unfamiliar people. challenging for many parents. In fact, 22 percent
of infants displayed two or more of these
z Difficult babies are easily agitated and very
characteristics most of the time.
sensitive to all sights and sounds. z SOURCE: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), 9-month
data wave (2001–2002), parent report of child displaying characteristic “most
Given that children have different temperaments, times.”
parents and other caregivers need to learn how to
Question:
create environments that best support their children’s
What does a child who is slow-to-warm-up or
temperaments [6].
difficult need?
DATA FACT: Answer:
z Nationally, more than half (55 percent) of infants
Keep the home and outside environment as
display at least one characteristic of a difficult
predictable as possible. At the same time, gently
temperament most of the time, suggesting
expose the child to new experiences. This may help
that many of these characteristics are common
foster the child’s social and emotional development
(Figure 1.3). For instance, most infants want
in a way that supports the child’s unique needs.
attention and company. However, when an
SIGNS OF
Off to a Good Start | 6
DIFFICULT TEMPERAMENT
Percent of infants who display behavior most times
SOURCE: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), 9-month data wave (2001-2002), parent report of child
displaying characteristic “most times”
(Baby FACES) that are socially competent at age one QAschildren get older, play
is 90 percent [12]. Using the same measure, in Shelby becomes more interactive, further
County, more than three-quarters (78 percent) of improving their social skills and
preparing them for more active
children age 12 months participating in the CANDLE social interactions inside and
study are considered socially competent by a parent. outside the home.
SOURCE: CANDLE Study (2009–2012) Parent report of social competence measured
by the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA)
DATA FACT:
z Nationally, approximately 26 percent of children
12 months of age exhibited problem behaviors
related to a lack of emotion regulation [12].
Using the same measure, approximately 25
percent of one-year-olds in Shelby County
exhibited problem behaviors related to a lack of
emotion regulation.
SOURCE: CANDLE Study (2009–2012) Parent report of social competence measured
by BITSEA
Question:
Doesn’t Shelby County already support social and
emotional development?
Answer:
Yes and no. Today, Shelby County spends more
time talking about child social and emotional
development and its importance than in the past.
But, schools, community organizations, and other
local child service organizations have traditionally
paid less attention to social and emotional
development than cognitive outcomes and
academic success.
http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/
perceptions/kindergarten-readiness-is-more-than-
academic
FIGURE 1.4
preschool
Schooling
Job training
AGE
SOURCE: Adapted from http://heckmanequation.org/heckman-equation
Start explores the issue of social and living in Shelby County and their families, with
emotional development in more detail attention to factors that influence social and
and provides insights for how each of emotional development.
us can help.
z Chapter Three takes a closer look at factors in
There is no “one size fits all” approach. Off to a the home environment that could be addressed
Good Start offers some quick tips to support child to support social and emotional development in
social and emotional development, but it is important young children.
to review the evidence when selecting a more z Chapter Four examines factors related to
comprehensive program or policy. caregivers and child-care settings that could
This book is designed to help improve understanding be addressed to support social and emotional
of the social and emotional development of children development in younger children.
in Shelby County and help community members think z Chapter Five summarizes the key findings from
about how they can make a difference. this book. This chapter also identifies action
To do this, the report pulls together data from both steps to promote and support healthy social
local sources of information and national sources. A and emotional development for the youngest
list of these resources is available in Appendix A. residents of Shelby County.
The use of both local and national data highlights the
knowledge available in Shelby County about social
and emotional development, identifies differences
and similarities between our local community and the
overall United States, and emphasizes areas where
additional information is needed to understand the
local issues.
http://heckmanequation.org/heckman-equation