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after birth, early childhood experiences also play a role in social and emotional development. These experiences include the quality of the child’s attachment to their caregivers, their exposure to positive and negative emotions, and their experiences with social interactions. For example, children who have secure attachments to their caregivers are more likely to develop healthy social and emotional skills.

Specific Social/Emotional Milestones for Selected Developmental Stages

Here are some specific social/emotional milestones for three developmental stages:

• Prenatal: The fetus begins to develop a sense of taste and smell. They also start to develop their own emotions, such as happiness, sadness, and anger.
• Infancy: Infants learn to express their emotions through facial expressions, body language, and vocalizations. They also start to develop a sense of self-awareness and begin to form attachments to their caregivers.
• Early Childhood: Toddlers start to develop a better understanding of social rules and expectations. They also start to develop their own sense of morality.

Social-Emotional Learning Strategies or Activities for Selected Developmental Stages

Here are two social-emotional learning strategies or activities for each of the selected developmental stages:

• Prenatal: Parents can read to their unborn child and talk to them about their day. They can also play calming music and sing to their child.
• Infancy: Parents can help their infant learn to express their emotions by labeling their emotions and providing them with comfort when they are upset. They can also help their infant develop a sense of self-awareness by playing games that involve mirrors and by helping their infant learn their name.
• Early Childhood: Teachers can help toddlers learn about social rules and expectations by providing them with clear and consistent instructions. They can also help toddlers develop their own sense of morality by talking to them about right and wrong and by providing them with opportunities to make moral choices.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is the ability to control one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It is an important skill for social and emotional development.

Some examples of self-regulation skills include:

• Being able to stay calm in difficult situations.
• Being able to focus on a task for a period of time.
• Being able to delay gratification.
• Being able to control impulsive behaviors.

Ways Teachers Can Model and Encourage Self-Regulation Skills

Here are two or three specific ways teachers can model and encourage the development of self-regulation skills in the classroom:

• Modeling self-regulation skills. Teachers can model self-regulation skills by staying calm in difficult situations, focusing on tasks, and delaying gratification.
• Providing opportunities for practice. Teachers can provide opportunities for students to practice self-regulation skills by giving them tasks that require them to stay calm, focus, and delay gratification.
• Giving feedback. Teachers can give feedback to students on their self-regulation skills. This feedback can help students to identify areas where they need to improve and to develop strategies for improving their self-regulation skills.

Social and Emotional Learning Strategies and/or Self-Regulation Skills for Families

Here are some social and emotional learning strategies and/or self-regulation skills that families can implement at home to support their child’s social/emotional development:

• Read books and talk about emotions. This helps children to learn about different emotions and how to express them in a healthy way.
• Play games that involve following rules and taking turns. This helps children to learn about social rules and expectations.
• Help children to develop a sense of self-awareness. This can be done by talking to children about their strengths and weaknesses and by helping them to set goals for themselves.
• Help children to develop coping skills. This can be done by teaching children relaxation techniques and by helping them to develop strategies for dealing with difficult emotions.

By implementing these strategies, families can help their children to develop the social and emotional skills they need to succeed in school and in life.