Social & Emotional Development

Social and emotional development is a child’s ability to understand the feelings of

others, control his or her own feelings and behaviors, get along with other children, and
build relationships with adults.

In order for children to develop the basic skills they need such as cooperation,
following directions, demonstrating self-control and paying attention, they must have
social-emotional skills.

Social-emotional development includes the child’s experience, expression, and

management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding
relationships with others (Cohen and others 2005). It encompasses both intra- and
interpersonal processes.

The core features of emotional development include the ability to identify and
understand one’s own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states in
others, to manage strong emotions and their expression in a constructive manner, to
regulate one’s own behavior, to develop empathy for others, and to establish and
maintain relationships. (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2004).

Infants experience, express, and perceive emotions before they fully understand
them. In learning to recognize, label, manage, and communicate their emotions and to
perceive and attempt to understand the emotions of others, children build skills that
connect them with family, peers, teachers, and the community. These growing
capacities help young children to become competent in negotiating increasingly
complex social interactions, to participate effectively in relationships and group
activities, and to reap the benefits of social support crucial to healthy human
development and functioning.

Healthy social-emotional development for infants and toddlers unfolds in an

interpersonal context, namely that of positive ongoing relationships with familiar,
nurturing adults. Young children are particularly attuned to social and emotional
stimulation. Even newborns appear to attend more to stimuli that resemble faces
(Johnson, et al 210). They also prefer their mothers’ voices to the voices of other
women (DeCasper 2008). Through nurturance, adults support the infants’ earliest
experiences of emotion regulation (Goodvin 2005).

Responsive caregiving supports infants in beginning to regulate their emotions

and to develop a sense of predictability, safety, and responsiveness in their social
environments. Early relationships are so important to developing infants that research
experts have broadly concluded that, in the early years, “nurturing, stable and
consistent relationships are the key to healthy growth, development and learning”
(National Research Council and Institute of Medicine 2000). In other words, high-quality
relationships increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for young children (Shonkoff
2004). Experiences with family members and teachers provide an opportunity for young
children to learn about social relationships and emotions through exploration and
predictable interactions. Professionals working in child care settings can support the
social-emotional development of infants and toddlers in various ways, including
interacting directly with young children, communicating with families, arranging the
physical space in the care environment, and planning and implementing curriculum.

Brain research indicates that emotion and cognition are profoundly interrelated
processes. Specifically, “recent cognitive neuroscience findings suggest that the neural
mechanisms underlying emotion regulation may be the same as those underlying
cognitive processes” (Bell and Wolfe 2004,). Emotion and cognition work together,
jointly informing the child’s impressions of situations and influencing behavior. Most
learning in the early years occurs in the context of emotional supports (National
Research Council and Institute of Medicine 2000). “The rich interpenetrations of
emotions and cognitions establish the major psychic scripts for each child’s life”
(Panksepp 2001). Together, emotion and cognition contribute to attentional processes,
decision making, and learning (Cacioppo and Berntson 1999). Furthermore, cognitive
processes, such as decision making, are affected by emotion (Barrett and others 2007).
Brain structures involved in the neural circuitry of cognition influence emotion and vice
versa (Barrett and others 2007). Emotions and social behaviors affect the young child’s
ability to persist in goal-oriented activity, to seek help when it is needed, and to
participate in and benefit from relationships.

According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

(CASEL), social and emotional development (also called social-emotional learning)
consists of the following five core components:

1. Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts

and their influence on behavior. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and
limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.

We can see evidence of self-awareness when toddlers state they are “sad,”
“scared,” or “happy,” or when they express autonomy in wanting to do things for
themselves. For example, when a toddler wants to pour his or her own milk, and says “I
do it!” this displays some early understanding of their capabilities.

2. Self-management

Self-management is the ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts and

behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling
impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and
academic goals.

When an infant reaches for a caregiver when he or she is upset, this is an early
sign of self-management. The child seeks an important person to help him or her calm
down. We can also see the beginning of self-management in toddlers every time they
ask to be next with a toy instead of taking it out of a peer’s hand.
 3. Social awareness

Social awareness is the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with
others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms
for behavior, and to recognize family, school and community resources and supports.

Anytime an infant looks concerned when another child is upset, or a toddler

reaches out to comfort a friend who is sad, or labels characters’ emotions in books,
these actions demonstrate the beginning of empathy and social awareness.

4. Relationship skills

Relationship skills are the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding
relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly,
listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating
conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.

For infants and toddlers, when they show interest in being with others, whether
this involves cooing back-and-forth with a caregiver or exchanging smiles or giggles
with other children, these are early relationship skills. We can also see early
cooperation skills when toddlers take turns going down the slide, or passing a ball back-
and-forth.

5. Responsible decision-making

Responsible decision-making is the ability to make constructive and respectful

choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of
ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of
consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others.

When a toddler wants to climb and moves to the classroom climber instead of
pulling him or herself up on the snack table, he or she has displayed some early
responsible decision-making.