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The Effects They Have On The Early Social Development Of Children

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The early years of life provide the foundation for a child’s social development. Social development is a gradual process and the rates of social development vary among children, however, children are active learners and have ample opportunities to learn. Social development involves the learning and skill building that enables children to effectively relate to others and to contribute to their family, school, and community in a positive way. The social development of a child is influenced by many factors including attachment, temperament, self-esteem, and emotional reactions. This essay will further examine these four factors and the effects they have on the early social development of children. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will …show more content…

A child’s mother who provides consistent responsive care and nurturing is most often the first adult whom a child becomes attached to. This adult may also include the child’s father, grandparents, siblings or others who have regular contact with the child (Kostelnik et al. 2015, p.30). The relationship established between the child and their primary caregiver is one of the child's very first child-adult relationships. This relationship provides the child with a safe and secure context for their learning and development. Children need consistent, secure emotional relationships with their primary caregivers and other adults to feel safe, protected, and nurtured, as they grow and develop. When establishing a positive adult-child relationship caregivers must keep five essential elements in mind: warmth, acceptance, genuineness, empathy and respect (Kostelnik et al. 2015, p.28). It is through these and other practices, that adults are able to aid children in developing positive social relationships. By forming such early relationships and strong connections with others, children build a sense of self-competence in knowing where they fit into the …show more content…

Children learn multiple emotion-regulating strategies, from their own experiences and from the observation of adults. For example, when a toddler seeks comfort she crawls up on to the lap of her caregiver, while Connie covers her eyes with her hands during an unpleasant part of a movie to avoid the emotionally arousing situation (Kostelnik et al. 2015, p.135). Adults can help children learn how to better cope with their emotions in a number of ways. Effective ways of responding to emotions include talking about emotions and using affective reflections. Affective reflections involve recognizing the emotions a child is facing and then using a reflective statement to help identify the child’s emotions (Kostelnik et al. 2015, p.144). For example, a reflective statement could be as simple as: “It’s frustrating to be interrupted” (Kostelnik et al. 2015, p.144). Verbally identifying emotions helps children distinguish their emotions and gives adults the opportunity to show their care and understanding towards the child, which plays an important role in the building of strong adult-child

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