Fostering social-emotional development for infants and toddlers is just as important as teaching them how to walk, talk, and eat. Social-emotional development refers to the child’s ability to experience, express, and manage their emotions and form positive and rewarding relationships with others (1). Read this post as we delve deeper and explain what social-emotional development is, including the various developmental milestones, and give you tips on developing social and emotional skills in infants and toddlers.
What Is Social-Emotional Development In Infants?
Social and emotional learning is a process through which babies begin to learn and develop life skills to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions that will continue in their adult life (2). Babies are born with the need and desire to connect with people around them. Primary caregivers and teachers play a crucial role in supporting development of social and emotional skills in babies (3).
Social And Emotional Developmental Milestones
Babies begin their emotional and social development at birth and achieve different milestones at different ages. The following are the usual developmental milestones seen in babies (4).
At birth babies have the ability to turn to a familiar voice and follow a face or object with their gaze from a short distance. They have a range of ways of using their behavior to communicate, such as by turning away when they feel overwhelmed by sensory input.
In the first few months they respond to emotions in a caregivers voice and react to their environment. By around 8 weeks babies begin to have a “social smile.”
By around nine months they begin to show what is termed “stranger anxiety” although there is great variation in intensity and timing of these developmental steps.
Some babies reach developmental milestones sooner than others. If you suspect any delays in your baby, then do not hesitate to contact the doctor.
9 Simple And Effective Tips For Supporting Social-Emotional Development In Infants
Infants learn social and emotional skills naturally. They need not be taught, but you can support the baby in reaching the milestones (3) (5). Try and understand the cues your non-verbal baby gives you by his/her actions. Babies feel loved when you respond to their basic needs like hunger, a wet diaper, need to be held in arms, etc. But do not expect to be perfectly in tune with your baby. We know from infant research that in typical, healthy relationships caregivers are out of sync with their infants in about 70% of interactions. Babies thrive and relationships grow when they have the opportunity to work through these moment-to-moment misunderstandings and repair missed connections. It takes time and countless interactions for parents and infants to figure each other out. Don’t be hard on yourself; you will get there. Do not aim to be perfect. Reflect their emotions without feeling that you need to imitate them exactly. When you show with your expression and voice that you understand their feelings but that their feelings are not exactly the same as yours, you help your child to take ownership of their emotional experience. Encourage your child to find ways to self-sooth. Thumb sucking is one way babies self-soothe. Some parents may prefer to have them use a pacifier. However, the thumb is always available and when parents do not call attention to the behavior, children typically stop on their own when the behavior is no longer age-appropriate. Learn to give space to the baby when he/she is not in a mood to play and is overwhelmed or irritated. Talk softly, cuddle them, and sway with them back and forth to help them relax.
