Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations
Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations
Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations
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SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT<br />
10<br />
Interactions are stepping-stones to<br />
relationships. Burk (1996, 285) writes:<br />
We, as teachers, need to facilitate the<br />
development of a psychologically safe<br />
environment that promotes positive<br />
social interaction. As children<br />
interact openly with their peers, they<br />
learn more about each other as individuals,<br />
and they begin building a<br />
history of interactions.<br />
Relationships with Peers<br />
<strong>Infant</strong>s develop close relationships<br />
with children they know over a period<br />
of time, such as other children in the<br />
family child care setting or neighborhood.<br />
Relationships with peers provide<br />
young children with the opportunity<br />
to develop strong social connections.<br />
<strong>Infant</strong>s often show a preference for<br />
playing and being with friends, as<br />
compared with peers with whom they<br />
do not have a relationship. Howes’<br />
(1983) research suggests that there<br />
are distinctive patterns of friendship<br />
for the infant, toddler, and preschooler<br />
age groups. The three groups vary in<br />
the number of friendships, the stability<br />
of friendships, and the nature of interaction<br />
between friends (for example,<br />
the extent to which they involve object<br />
exchange or verbal communication).<br />
Identity of Self in Relation<br />
to Others<br />
<strong>Infant</strong>s’ social-emotional development<br />
includes an emerging awareness<br />
of self and others. <strong>Infant</strong>s demonstrate<br />
this foundation in a number of<br />
ways. For example, they can respond<br />
to their names, point to their body<br />
parts when asked, or name members<br />
of their families. Through an emerging<br />
understanding of other people in<br />
their social environment, children gain<br />
an understanding of their roles within<br />
their families and communities. They<br />
also become aware of their own preferences<br />
and characteristics and those of<br />
others.<br />
Recognition of Ability<br />
<strong>Infant</strong>s’ developing sense of selfefficacy<br />
includes an emerging understanding<br />
that they can make things<br />
happen and that they have particular<br />
abilities. Self-efficacy is related to a<br />
sense of competency, which has been<br />
identified as a basic human need<br />
(Connell 1990). The development of<br />
children’s sense of self-efficacy may be<br />
seen in play or exploratory behaviors<br />
when they act on an object to produce<br />
a result. For example, they pat a<br />
musical toy to make sounds come out.<br />
Older infants may demonstrate recognition<br />
of ability through “I” statements,<br />
such as “I did it” or “I’m good at drawing.”<br />
Expression of Emotion<br />
Even early in infancy, children<br />
express their emotions through facial<br />
expressions, vocalizations, and body<br />
language. The later ability to use<br />
words to express emotions gives young<br />
children a valuable tool in gaining the<br />
assistance or social support of others<br />
(Saarni and others 2006). Temperament<br />
may play a role in children’s<br />
expression of emotion. Tronick (1989,<br />
112) described how expression of<br />
emotion is related to emotion regulation<br />
and communication between the<br />
mother and infant: “the emotional<br />
expressions of the infant and the caretaker<br />
function to allow them to mutually<br />
regulate their interactions . . . the<br />
infant and the adult are participants<br />
in an affective communication system.”