Social-emotional skills are essential for connecting with others! They help us manage our emotions, build healthy relationships, and feel empathy.
While these skills may sound complex, social and emotional development begins at a very young age.
When does social and emotional development begin?
Babies start learning these skills from birth! As soon as they begin interacting with the people who care for them, they begin to understand and recognize thoughts and feelings.
How do parents impact social emotional development?
Parents help to nurture social-emotional skills so kids develop healthy relationships with friends and family members. Even as a baby, your little one is picking up on how you respond to their social and emotional needs. They notice how safe they feel at home and in your presence. They learn how to feel empathy, recognize emotions and say “I’m sorry” by following your lead.
What do social-emotional skills help kids do?
Kids with healthy social-emotional skills are more likely succeed in school, work, and life. Social-emotional skills help kids:
- Make friends and keep friendships
- Gain confidence
- Resolve conflicts
- Manage stress and anxiety
- Learn social norms
- Make appropriate decisions
- Resist negative social pressure
- Learn strengths and weaknesses
- Gain awareness of what others are feeling
How long does it take to develop social-emotional skills?
Social-emotional growth takes time and even continues throughout adulthood. Early experiences with family, caregivers, and peers greatly impact social and emotional development, but throughout our lives we will continue to be shaped by our experiences! These experiences can include meeting new people who have a great impact on your life, overcoming difficult situations, or even raising children.
In Little Academy Nursery we have a large set of activities that help children develop their social and emotional skills that influence their success in school and in life in general:
- By Encourage them to talk and express their thoughts and feelings during circle time and in Show and tell
- Learn to share, take turns and control their emotions during group play inside and outside the class
- Teach them classroom rules and general social norms on daily basis
- Help them to become more independent in classroom routine
- Engage them in meaningful relationships and give them chance to interact with each others during organized activities and free play
- Develop a positive self-image by assigning tasks to each student and nominate them one by one to become the start of the week
Link: https://pathways.org/topics-of-development/social-emotional/