9 Chapter 9: Social Emotional Development in Early Childhood
9 Chapter 9: Social Emotional Development in Early Childhood
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
- Describe how preschoolers view themselves.
- Summarize Erikson’s stage of initiative versus guilt.
- Discuss the progression of social emotional development during early childhood.
- Explain how children develop their understanding of gender.
- Compare and contrast different styles of parenting.
- Define characteristics of high quality child care.
- Discuss the role of siblings and peers.
- Describe the types of play.
- Summarize the influence on social and emotional competence.
- Identify the effects of stress on three- to five-year olds.
Introduction
In early childhood, children’s understanding of themselves and their role in the world expands greatly.
Social and Emotional Milestones
That expanding understanding of themselves and others develops with age. Here is a table of social and emotional milestones that children typically experience during early childhood.
Table 9.1 – Social and Emotional Milestones[1]
| Typical Age | What Most Children Do by This Age |
| 3 years | Copies adults and friends
Shows affection for friends without prompting Takes turns in games Shows concern for a crying friend Dresses and undresses self Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers” Shows a wide range of emotions Separates easily from mom and dad May get upset with major changes in routine |
| 4 years | Enjoys doing new things
Is more and more creative with make-believe play Would rather play with other children than by self Cooperates with other children Plays “mom” or “dad” Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s make-believe Talks about what she likes and what she is interested in |
| 5 years | Wants to please friends
Wants to be like friends More likely to agree with rules Likes to sing, dance, and act Is aware of gender Can tell what’s real and what’s make-believe Shows more independence Is sometimes demanding and sometimes very cooperative |
Many things influence how children develop those milestones as how they view themselves and how they interact with those around them changes. Let’s look more at these.
Interactionism and Views of Self
Early childhood is a time of forming an initial sense of self. A self-concept or idea of who we are, what we are capable of doing, and how we think and feel is a social process that involves taking into consideration how others view us. So, in order to develop a sense of self, you must have interaction with others. Interactionist theorists, Cooley and Mead offer two interesting explanations of how a sense of self develops.
Cooley
Charles Horton Cooley (1964) suggests that our self-concept comes from looking at how others respond to us. This process, known as the looking-glass self involves looking at how others seem to view us and interpreting this as we make judgments about whether we are good or bad, strong or weak, beautiful or ugly, and so on. Of course, we do not always interpre