Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

8 months
Foundation: Social Understanding
The developing understanding of the responses, communication,
emotional expressions, and actions of other people
At around eight months of
age, children have learned
what to expect from familiar
people, understand what to
do to get another’s attention,
engage in back-and-forth
interactions with others, and
imitate the simple actions or
facial expressions of others.
For example, the child may:
• Smile when the infant care
teacher pauses, to get her to
continue playing peek-a-boo or
pat-a-cake.
• Squeal in anticipation of the
infant care teacher’s uncovering
her eyes during a game of
peek-a-boo.
• Learn simple behaviors by imitating
a parent’s facial expressions,
gestures, or sounds.
• Try to get a familiar game or
routine started by prompting
the infant care teacher.
• Quiet crying upon realizing that
the infant care teacher is approaching.
Chart continues on next page.
18 months
At around 18 months of age,
children know how to get the
infant care teacher to respond in
a specific way through gestures,
vocalizations, and shared
attention; use another’s emotional
expressions to guide their
own responses to unfamiliar
events; and learn more complex
behavior through imitation.
Children also engage in more
complex social interactions and
have developed expectations
for a greater number of familiar
people.
For example, the child may:
• Gesture toward a desired toy
or food while reaching, making
imperative vocal sounds, and
looking toward the infant care
teacher.
• Seek reassurance from the infant
care teacher when unsure about
something.
• Vary response to different infant
care teachers depending on their
play styles, even before they have
started playing; for example,
get very excited upon seeing an
infant care teacher who regularly
plays in an exciting, vigorous
manner.
• Engage in back-and-forth play
that involves turn-taking, such as
rolling a ball back and forth.
• Look in the direction of the infant
care teacher’s gesturing or pointing.
• Learn more complex behaviors
through imitation, such as
watching an older child put toys
together and then doing it.
36 months
At around 36 months of
age, children can talk about
their own wants and feelings
and those of other people,
describe familiar routines,
participate in coordinated
episodes of pretend play
with peers, and interact
with adults in more complex
ways.
For example, the child may:
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• Name own feelings or desires,
explicitly contrast them with
another’s, or describe why the
child feels the way he does.
• Describe what happens during
the bedtime routine or another
familiar everyday event.
• Move into and out of pretend
play roles, tell other children
what they should do in their
roles, or extend the sequence
(such as by asking “Wanna
drink?” after bringing a pretend
hamburger to the table
as a waiter).
• Help the infant care teacher
search for a missing toy.
• Talk about what happened
during a recent past experience,
with the assistance of
the infant care teacher.
• Help the infant care teacher
clean up at the end of the
day by putting the toys in the
usual places.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT