By Lisa Mulliken
Social-emotional development includes the ability to interact and have positive, meaningful relationships with others. It enables children to recognize, express, and manage their emotions and appropriately respond to others’ emotions. Young children rely on adults to help them manage emotions and learn and practice these new skills.
Social-emotional development is essential for children’s overall health and well-being, and caregivers play an important part in nurturing social-emotional skills in young children.
Nurturing and responsive relationships and a safe, secure environment are the biggest influences on children’s social-emotional development. When children have responsive caregivers who meet their needs and provide emotional support and positive interactions, they feel safe to express their emotions. They are more likely to develop a strong, secure attachment, crucial for healthy development.
Activities to Support Social-Emotional Skills
Draw a Picture
Art provides a safe place for children to explore and express emotions through non-verbal communication. Drawing or painting can provide opportunities for children to talk about feelings and fears. Ask children to tell you a story about their art and ask questions like, “How does it make you feel?” “What do you like about it?” or “What is your favorite part?”
Make Faces
Make faces and name emotions as you look in a mirror or at each other. Name an emotion and ask children to make a face in a mirror, then describe the emotion. “Oh, you look happy! Your eyes are crinkled, and you have a big smile on your face!”
Read Books
Reading books together is a powerful way to help children understand emotions. Read books about emotions and talk about social situations and the feelings of the characters in the book. Ask questions like, “Why do you think they are sad?” or “What could they do instead of throwing the toy?”
Pretend Play and Social-Emotional Learning
Pretend play encourages children to explore social roles and emotions and fosters self-expression, confidence, and cooperation with others. This type of play helps to develop language, cognitive, and social-emotional skills, encourages children to think about other perspectives, work through scary experiences, and practice expressing and reacting to emotions. A child pretending to go to the doctor may explore feelings about an upcoming visit. A child playing with baby dolls is practicing how to be nurturing, empathetic, and gentle as they engage in caretaking and meeting another’s needs.
As children play, watch to see if they are working through fears or frustrations. For example, a child pretending to be a parent saying goodbye to their baby may be working through feelings of separation during morning drop-off at child care. Using puppets or a play phone can help children tell stories or discuss strong emotions or fears.
Positive Guidance Strategies
Positive guidance supports children’s social-emotional learning by helping them make good choices and build self-control and a sense of responsibility. Below are some positive guidance strategies.
Be Calm
Before reacting to a child, regulate your own emotions. Walk away, take a breath, and be a calm, patient role model. Name your emotions and model coping strategies as you react to the child’s behavior.
Be Consistent
Consistent rules, routines, and expectations create structure, which provides children with a sense of security. It is also important to be consistent in reacting to children’s emotions and behaviors.
Acknowledge and Accept
Acknowledging all emotions builds trust and relationships and lets children know that all feelings are acceptable. For example, “You are mad because you don’t want to leave the playground. You are crying because you want to stay and play. It’s hard when you have to stop doing something you like.”
Social-Emotional Books
Making Faces: A First Book of Emotions by Abrams Appleseed
No, David! By David Shannon
When I Am/Cuando Estoy by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza
Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda
B is for Breathe by Melissa Munro Boyd
Happy Hippo, Angry Duck by Sandra Boynton
The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! By Mo Willems
My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems