Social and Emotional Developmental Milestones
Social and emotional milestones are of huge importance when it comes to school readiness. These milestones are often harder to pinpoint than physical ones, but they are key when determining whether a child is blossoming in their abilities to self-regulate as well as to be self-aware. All children have an innate desire to explore the world around them and to experience all that makes up them. The development of social and emotional competence is reflected in a child’s’ ability to focus, cooperate with others and to easily make transitions in activities.
1 to 2 years of life
In the first 1 to 2 years of life, Erikson believed that a child would go through a psychosocial crisis called trust versus mistrust. If the child is taken care of properly and feels confident to explore her surroundings safely, she/he will develop trusting relationships with his/her caregivers and will be able to successfully transition through various stages of positive social and emotional tasks.
For instance, a baby between the ages of 0 and 6 months who is trusting will want to play peek-a-boo with his/her caregiver, will want to be comforted when feeling sad and will show pleasure when faced with social stimulation. Furthermore, he/she will begin to realize that she/he owns body parts such as legs and arms and will feel encouraged to learn how they work. Between 6 months to a year, a healthy child will be able to express a wide variety of differentiated emotions and will respond actively to language and gestures. On the other hand, a child who develops mistrust will struggle to move through the various stages of social and emotional growth due to their constant need for reassurance.
Age 1 through 2
As children enter ages 1 through 2, a huge amount of changes occur. Children are much more aware that they are a separate entity and that their actions can actually have an effect on other people as well as things! They are much more eager to initiate interactions with other people and are more likely to imitate the actions of others. This is where that saying “monkey see, monkey do” comes into play!
Age 2 through 4
Erikson theorized that between the ages of 2 and 4, a child experiences either autonomy or shame. A child who develops properly will become extremely assertive and proud of their new found control, thus autonomy. The famous temper tantrums of a 2 year old are not to be seen as anything bad, as it actually means that they are a healthy autonomous child who is naturally trying to maintain their new seat of power. Stubbornness and negativism are also signs of autonomy. When a child develops shame, they might be withdrawn and less likely to assert themselves. The pride and pleasure of a new accomplishment might be entirely mute in a shameful child.
Erikson thought that by the age of 3, a child would enter into what he called the “play age”. This would last for about 3 years, depending on when the child enters public school. In the “play age”, the psychosocial crisis is initiative vs guilt. A healthily developing child will love to imagine things and will actively take part in fantasy play while cooperating with their peers. Rules of games will be acknowledged and although it might take some time for them to be followed exactly, the process begins throughout these years. Interest in other children is key to this stage, whereas in the other stages it was more about the child alone and their caregiver(s). Relationships begin to blossom and even an interest in the differences of gender are expressed. A child who experiences guilt will be more fearful and less prone to interacting with others. They might hang for dear life on to one or two adults, but that’s the extent of their exploration.
It is important to remember that social and emotional development depends a lot on child’s temperament and personality. Whereas some children are eager to learn new things and experience as much as they can without initiative by an adult, others might need more encouragement and guidance. As a parent, it is essential to watch your child’s growth and development, but to not get caught up on an exact formula for where they should be at every age. As long as their environment is positive and stimulating and there is room for continuous exploration, a child will have no choice but to develop naturally in every way unless there are other imbalances needing to be addressed like learning disabilities or disorders.