TR

Social Emotional Development

What Is Social Emotional Development?

  • Development of the capacity to form close and secure adult and peer relationships
  • Expression of emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways
  • Exploration of the environment and learning— in the context of family, community, and culture

Social Emotional Development

  • Beginning immediately after birth, a baby’s brain is primed to grow and make connections through meaningful experiences
  • Supportive and caring environments and reciprocal, nurturing relationships are critical aspects to healthy lifelong development, beginning from the first days of birth and beyond, changing actual brain circuitry
  • Connections help develop trust, empathy, and protect from stress and even negate effects of adverse life events and trauma.
  • Understanding the significance of emotional development, connectedness is important for prevention, policy, and intervention (supporting parents, facilitating environment, role of school personnel, educators and providers)
  • T/F: Few infants are born biologically ready for relationships : FALSE
  • T/F Babies prefer looking at faces: TRUE
  • T/F: Infants' brain development is completely determined and designed based on genetics: FALSE
  • When infants and toddlers feel safe and have their needs met, they are more likely to observe, explore, play, interact, and experiment with people and objects.

Emotions

  • Center on the Developing Child at Harvard states that the first five years of life are crucial for emotional development, starting at birth.
  • Emotions in the early stage are strongly influenced and intertwined with the relationship they have with others, particularly their caregivers
  • Hard-wired to make emotional and social connections
  • Primed to look at mother, preference for faces over objects, visual acuity
  • Look longer at positive emotions, prefer altruistic acts
  • Emotional development plays a key role in a child’s health and well-being,
    both short and long-term.

Milestones

  • 2 months
    • Calms down when spoken to or picked up
    • Looks at your face
    • Smiles at people when they talk or smile
    • Cries when hungry, wet, tired, or wants to be held
  • 4 months
    • Smiles on own to get attention
    • Begins making early noise sounds of laughter when prompted to laugh
    • Looks at you, moves, or makes sound to get or keep your attention
    • Smiles or coos at self in the mirror
  • 6 months
    • Knows familiar people
    • Enjoys looking at self in a mirror
    • Laughs
    • Plays by grabbing foot when laying on back
  • 9 months
    • Is shy, clingy, or fearful of strangers
    • Shows several facial expressions like happy, sad, angry, surprised
    • Looks when you call their name
    • Reacts when you leave (looks, reaches for you, or cries)
    • Smiles or laughs when you play peek-a-boo