Supporting children's healthy social-emotional development since early years
What is social-emotional development?
Infants seek to emotionally bond with an adult figure since birth. When caregivers respond to their needs in a loving and caring way, for example, when a mother reads her baby's hunger cues and breastfeeds promptly, their connection is also deepened. The emotional connection built upon caregivers' close attention, empathic understanding, and responsive care paves the way for a healthy start of children's social-emotional development. Through supportive relationships, children build their confidence and sense of security to explore the world.
Social and emotional development has the following interrelated, inseparable components, which develop sequentially in line with children's overall cognitive development:1
- Emotional awareness – involves recognising and understanding our own feelings and those of the others, as well as how the emotions and behaviours of ourselves and the other people affect each other
- Self-regulation – refers to the ability to express our feelings and needs, and to control behaviours in appropriate ways
- Social interaction – includes getting along with the others, establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships
Research suggests that healthy social-emotional development in early years is associated in the long term with positive outcomes in different aspects in late childhood to adulthood, including physical and mental health, learning, and successes in workplace and social relationships.2 Social-emotional competence has also been found to be associated positively with school readiness and negatively with behaviour problem in a recent local study.3
Strategies to foster social-emotional development
Children's social and emotional development is heavily shaped by their interactions with their primary caregivers and other persons who spend most time with them, as well as the home and out-of-home environments that they are raised in.4 It is never too early, as a healthcare or early education professional, to address children's social and emotional needs and facilitate families to support healthy social-emotional development in young children in your daily work. Parents and professionals may foster social-emotional development by creating a predictable and nurturing environment, enhancing emotional competence, and social competence.5.
Creating a predictable and nurturing environment
By providing an environment where children feel safe and loved, they are encouraged to explore and grow. Specifically, professionals may create an environment that feels predictable and safe by telling the children what to expect or show them around on their first visits, follow established routines and give the children prior notices before transitioning from one activity to another activity. For children who are slow to warm up, help them adapt to the new environment by following their pace and allowing parents' company where appropriate. To make the children feel warm and welcomed, pay attention to how you interact with them: Be friendly and responsive to the children; show a genuine interest in the children through simple gestures such as smiling at them; get down to the children's eye level when talking and make frequent eye contact with them. Acknowledge their presence in a caring and respectful manner even when you are talking to their parents.
For professionals working in childcare or early education settings where children visit regularly, you may get to know the children you work with in advance by talking with parents about their temperament, preferences, and interests. Such knowledge may help you better cater their emotional and social needs. Supporting children's autonomy, for instance, by offering children reasonable choices such as choosing the activities to engage in during free play time, and guiding them to help collect the materials needed before a classroom activity, may increase their sense of control and security.
Enhancing emotional competence
Children's social emotional development may also be supported through enhancing their emotional awareness and regulation skills. Professionals may also encourage parents to nurture their children's emotional competence by encouraging them to observe and understand their children's temperament and patterns of emotional expressions as the first step. Help parents to accept their children's feelings while setting limit in a calm and empathic manner can also support their social emotional development and foster parent-child relationship.
For early educators and childcare workers, when you interact with children under your care, pay attention to their behaviours and listen carefully to understand their feelings. You may also encourage children to express their emotions, for example, when a child cries for his toy being snatched by another child, help him put the feelings into words, "you like the toy so much that you are upset to see it being taken away." Regardless of the emotions expressed, reassure children that it is normal and acceptable to experience strong feelings while you guide them to solve the problem using emotion coaching techniques.
Enhancing social competence
To promote early skills for building social relationships, provide opportunities for children to play side by side or engage in group activities where possible. At early education settings, teachers and childcare workers may guide children to learn about and practise sharing and turn-taking in playgrounds and daily activities such as snack time, pretend play, reading story, and ball games. Tell the children in advance that toys and snacks would be shared to promote turn-taking and sharing, and give them choices so that they can decide which one to take and which one to share. Teach, demonstrate and model prosocial behaviours and encourage them through praises and rewards.
Supporting parents of children with social-emotional problems
Each child is unique and develops at his or her own pace. Social-emotional difficulties in young children may indicate problems in parent-child relationships (e.g., punitive parenting practice, child abuse), development (e.g., hearing or language impairment, attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], autism spectrum disorder [ASD], etc.), or unfavourable circumstances of their families (e.g., poverty). In some special situations, children who experience stressful life events such as parental divorce, bereavement, or other traumatic events, may also manifest developmental difficulties. Behaviour problems may warrant concern when they persist and interfere with everyday life. Parental support or training that foster positive parenting practices may be actively considered, especially for at-risk families affected by maternal depression, poverty, or domestic violence.
What to do if children are suspected of problems in social and emotional development?
If teachers, school social workers, and childcare professionals have concerns regarding a child's development, gather supplementary information from the primary caregiver first. If necessary, discuss with other relevant service partners with parental consent. Encourage parents to consult a Maternal and Child Health Centre (MCHC), family doctor or paediatrician. Pre-primary teachers may refer children suspected of social or emotional problems or other problems in health, development, behavioural, and/or learning to MCHC for assessment; further referrals for assessment and interventions will be made according to the children's needs. For more information of this referral system for pre-schoolers, please refer to: https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/preprimary-kindergarten/comprehensive-child-development-service/index.html
Local resources for professionals and parents
Professionals may learn more about social and emotional development of children at different ages or access relevant local resources through the following:
- Health education resources related to social emotional development of the Family Health Service:
- A resource hub for games and play activities: Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education. Jockey Club "Play n Gain" Project: Play Resource Hub.
- Free resources for teachers and parents on social-emotional development:
The Education University of Hong Kong. 3Es: Early Prevention, Early Identification, and Early Intervention: A School-Based Support Model of Social-Emotional Development for Kindergarten Children. http://3esproject.eduhk.hk/tc/info.php?id=1
Clinical Psychologists, the Family Health Service of the Department of Health
Ms. Jennifer Tang, Clinical Psychology Trainee, the University of Hong Kong
References
- National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Children's Emotional Development is Built into the Architecture of Their Brains: Working Paper No. 2. 2004. Retrieved August 24, 2021, from: http://46y5eh11fhgw3ve3ytpwxt9r.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2004/04/Childrens-Emotional-Development-Is-Built-into-the-Architecture-of-Their-Brains.pdf
- Goodman A, Joshi H, Nasim B, Tyler C. Social and emotional skills in childhood and their long-term effects on adult life. 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2021, from: https://www.eif.org.uk/report/social-and-emotional-skills-in-childhood-and-their-long-term-effects-on-adult-life
- Lam CB, Chung KKH, Lam CS, Li X. Linking social-emotional competence to behavioral and academic adjustment among Chinese kindergarten children: A multilevel approach. Early Education and Development. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2021.1979836
- Cohen J, Onunaku N, Clothier S, Poppe J. Helping young children succeed: Strategies to promote early childhood social and emotional development. Early Childhood Research and Policy Report. 2005. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from: https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/136-helping-young-children-succeed-strategies-to-promote-early-childhood-social-and-emotional-development
- U.S. Department of Education. Fostering Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children: Tips for Early Childhood Teachers and Providers 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from: http://toosmall.org/blog/body/HHS-SED-Tips-for-Early-Childhood-Teachers-and-Providers.pdf