Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

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