Too Small to Fail recently released a white paper on the importance of cultivating a child’s social-emotional development from birth. Too Small to Fail defines social-emotional development as a combination of the relationships we share with others, emotional awareness, and the ability to recognize, understand, express, and respond to feelings in socially appropriate ways.
- Social-emotional development plays several key roles in early childhood, from understanding feelings, to taking turns, to building healthy relationships with others. It is the foundation upon which much other learning takes place,
- Children with strong social-emotional skills do better in school because they are more focused, can cooperate with and learn from others, and exhibit fewer behavioral problems,
- Healthy social-emotional development in early childhood leads to better outcomes in adulthood, such as improved health, better jobs, and more stable relationships,
- Positive parent-child (or caregiver-child) interactions offer benefits to parents and caregivers, in addition to better social-emotional development in children, and
- There is a gap in understanding about social-emotional development, but if we improve intervention programs that support parents and caregivers, and undertake broad-based awareness efforts, we can help all children grow into healthy, successful adults.
Read more of the report from Too Small to Fail here.
Devan Maloney Consultant