Social- Emotional Development Birth to One

Social-Emotional Development: A person’s basic disposition. The way they interact with others. How they show their feelings.

Temperament Temperament The tendency to react in a certain way:  partly inherited  prenatal conditions  ease of birth  environment

Characteristics of a baby’s temperament Easy 4 in 10 Slow to warm up 1 in 10 Difficult 1 in 10

Aspects of Social Development Interacting with others:  Born with tools for social development  Understand social messages  Send signals  Eventually initiate social contact

Learning to Trust Erik Erikson – Learning to trust while avoiding mistrust is the social-emotional task of infancy; basis for later feelings toward others. Two key factors in whether infants learn to trust: By having a consistent environment. By having their needs met promptly each time.

Meeting psychological needs such as cuddling, loving, playing, and being talked to usually creates happier babies, …and happier parents, too!

Attachment  The closeness baby develops to those who care for them.  Necessary for healthy brain development.  Specific attachment behaviors are closely related to the baby’s mental development.

Infants Express Emotions Two basic responses during first three or four months: distress – shown by crying & muscle tension excitement – shown by smiling, cooing, & wiggling the body

By 12 months old, babies express: love fear anxiety anger jealousy joy sadness

LOVE Babies must realize that they are separate from caregivers & others. Babies begin to feel & show love and affection to caregivers that make them feel full, clean, & comforted. Babies become attached to objects that seem to offer security.

FEAR Occurs at around 6 months: Fear of the unknown. Fear learned from direct experiences or teachings. Affects motor & mental development.

Anxiety Occurs between 10 & 12 months: fear of a possible future event. separation anxiety – babies become anxious when the adults they love must leave them for a time.

Anger Occurs between 8 & 10 months: Directed toward a person or object. Expressed in physical ways since they lack language skills. Can often be prevented or reduced by appropriate actions by caregivers.

Emotional development is complex and depends on brain development in other areas such as thinking, memory, and language.

Babies who express a range of emotions, from happy to unhappy, show healthy development!