Social & Emotional Development in Early Childhood

As discussed previously, children develop in all sorts of ways in the Early Childhood Development stage. We've already discussed how children develop physically and cognitively, but what about socially or emotionally? In these two areas, children make significant developments that help prepare them for their future.  

Emotionally, children are beginning to develop a better understanding of themselves which, as a result, gives them a wider range of emotions to feel and understand. Two emotions that children commonly express in this stage of development is pride and guilt. These are two emotions that are driven from parents reactions to their child's behavior. A reprimanded child will quickly begin to understand how to express guilt. Children who are praised for their behavior will quickly understand how to express pride. It's important to reinforce good behavior in children more often than bad behavior because reinforcing good behavior helps build their self esteem.

Children in this stage of development learn how to regulate their emotions which is a very important skill because it affects the way they will socialize with others in the future. Being able to regulate their emotions helps children not only get along with other better but is also helps them show empathy to others, express their feelings and share generously with others (Cherry, 2015).

Moral development is also something that is improved in this stage. Children begin to develop thoughts, feelings, and behaviors about rules and conventions based on what other people should do in their interactions with other people (Santrock, 2014).

Socially, children begin to expand the number of interactions that they have with other children. In this stage, children begin socializing more with other children. Not only does socialization allow children to work on their physical and cognitive development through play, they also learn how to communicate with others and understand emotions better. The way children socialize with others can give us a better idea of how their mental health status (Australian Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative, 2008). Children who socialize aggressively, or show aggression frequently, are more likely to develop problems with authority, drop out of school and suffer from depression.

What can we do as parents to help our children develop the best that they can in these areas? We can encourage play. Playtime with parents is always great, but children should spend a good amount of time interacting with other children their age as well. In this stage of development, children are more likely to socialize with the same-sex rather than with opposite-sex playmates (Santrock, 2014). Play helps them both socially because they can practice their social skills but it also helps them with regulating emotions because play gives them the opportunity to confront issues and with time they can learn how to manage their emotions and solve those issues in productive manner.

Sources:

Australian Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative. (2008). Social Development and Behaviour. 
Retrieved from https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/resources-support-childrens-mental-health/social-development

Cherry, K. (2015). Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/early-child-development/a/Social-And-Emotional-Development-In-Early-Childhood.htm