Module 1 Infant Toddler

1
Module 1 Infant Toddler

• Social Emotional Development within the Context
  of Relationships

2
Agenda

• Introduction and Logistics
• Social Emotional Development within the Context
  of Relationships
• Introduction to the Elements of Social Emotional
  Wellness in Infants and Toddlers
• Experiencing, Expressing, and Regulating Emotions
• Temperament
• The Balance of Close, Secure Relationships
  Learning and Exploration
• The Developmental Course of Social Emotional
  Wellness
• Childrens Social Emotional Development within
  the Context of Families
• Using Your Relationship to Promote a Childs
  Social Emotional Development
• Summary and Action Planning

3
Learner Objectives

• Participants will be able to describe the
  elements of social emotional wellness in infants
  and toddlers (precursors to preschool goals).
• Participants will be able to describe key
  developmental concepts that impact the social and
  emotional development of infants and toddlers.
• Participants will be able to describe the unique
  importance of families to the social emotional
  development of infants and toddlers.
• Participants will be able to describe the
  importance of caregiver self-awareness to the
  positive social emotional development of infants
  and toddlers and to supporting families rearing
  infants and toddlers.
• Participants will be able to describe key social
  emotional needs of infants and toddlers.
• Participants will be able to describe the
  importance of relationships to early social
  emotional development in infants and toddlers.

4
Activity

• Write down one thing that you would like to
  learn today about the social emotional
  development of infants and toddlers.

5
CSEFEL Pyramid Model
6
CSEFEL Definition of Social Emotional Development

• The term social emotional development refers
  to the developing capacity of the child from
  birth through five years of age to form close and
  secure adult and peer relationships experience,
  regulate, and express emotions in socially and
  culturally appropriate ways and explore the
  environment and learn - all in the context of
  family, community, and culture.
• Caregivers promote healthy development by
  working to support social emotional wellness in
  all young children, and make every effort to
  prevent the occurrence or escalation of social
  emotional problems in children at-risk,
  identifying and working to
• remediate problems that surface, and, when
  necessary, referring children and their families
  to appropriate services.
• Adapted from ZERO TO THREE, 2001

7
(No Transcript)
8
Relationships are Different from Interactions

• Relationships
• Have emotional connections
• Endure over time
• Have special meaning between the two people
• Create memories and expectations in the minds of
  the people involved

9
Activity

• Complete Reflective Inventory

10

11

12

13
Research Findings on Early Social Emotional
Development

• 1. Nature and nurture combine to define who we
  are as individuals.
• 2. Nature has provided humans with what some
  scientists call early infant competencies or
  motivations.
• 3. Babies are born to connect with other humans.
• 4. Babies discriminate sounds of language very
  early.
• 5. Babies recognize their parents voices.
• 6. Babies can match emotional voice tone
• to emotional facial expression.
• 7. Babies prefer looking at faces.

14
Research Findings (contd)

• Babies seek physical and emotional equilibrium.
• Babies are predisposed to signal their needs to
  someone who will help them survive.
• 10. Babies are an emotional trigger for adults.
• 11. Babies are born with the desire to master and
  explore their environment and are active
  participantsin their own learning.
• 12.The infants early brain development is
  designed to connect the newborn with other human
  beings around him who will provide care.
• 13.The brain grows through the experiences the
  infant has with the world. Parents and other
  important adults are that world.

15
Research Findings (contd)

• 14. The familys culture influences all areas of
  a babys development, including the social
  emotional realm.
• 15. Many factors can affect social emotional
  development, including developmental delays or
  serious health issues with the baby, or an
  environment with multiple risk factors (ex.
  poverty, substance
• abuse, adult mental health issues, domestic
  violence)
• 16. The babys communication of emotions and
  needs establishes the learning pathways in the
  brainthat lead to all other physical, cognitive,
  and emotional learning.
• From Neurons to neighborhoods The science of
  early childhood
• development (2000) Emotional connections How
  relationships
• guide early learning (2004).

16
Early Social Emotional Development

• Early mental health or early social emotional
  wellness is the developing capacity of the child
  from birth to 3 to experience, regulate, and
  express emotions form close and secure
  interpersonal relationships and explore the
  environment and learn- all in the context of
  family, community, and cultural expectations for
  young children.
• Developing capacity is a reminder of the
  extraordinarily rapid pace of growth and change
  in the first 3 years of life
• Infants and toddlers depend heavily on adults to
  help them experience, regulate, and express
  emotions
• Through close, nurturing interpersonal
  relationships with parents and other
  caregivers, infants and
  toddlers learn what people expect
  of them and what they can expect
  of other people

17
Early Social Emotional Development (Contd)

• The drive to explore and master ones environment
  is inborn in humans. Infants and toddlers
  active participation in their own learning and
  development is an important aspect of their
  mental health.
• The context of family and community is where
  infants and toddlers learn to share and
  communicate their feelings and experience with
  significant caregivers and other children. They
  develop a sense of themselves as competent,
  effective, and valued individual.
• Culture influences every aspect of human
  development, including how infant mental health
  is understood, adults goals and expectations for
  young childrens development, and the child
  rearing practices used by parents and caregivers.
  
• ZERO TO THREE, 2001

18
Three Major Elements of Social Emotional Wellness
in Infancy

• Forming close and secure relationships
• Experiencing, expressing, and regulating emotions
• Exploring the environment and learning

19
(No Transcript)
20
Regulation and Stress in Young Babies
21
Strategies for Helping Babies Self-Regulate

• Containing their limbs with swaddling, cuddling,
  and bringing them close to your chest and
  heartbeat
• Providing something to suck a pacifier, their
  own hand, their fingers
• Limiting the stimulation in the environment
• Helping baby to awaken or to fall asleep with
  rocking, cuddling, gentle patting, a quiet voice,
  singing, or a simple chant
• Using a firm, gentle touch

22
(No Transcript)
23
Small Group Activity

24
Temperament

• Appears to be biologically based
• Fairly constant over time
• Affects a childs reactions to other people and
  the environment
• (Wittmer Petersen, 2006 based on Thomas, Chess,
  Birch, Hertzig Korn, 1963)

25
Temperament Traits

• Activity level always active or generally still
• Biological rhythms predictability of hunger,
  sleep, elimination
• Approach/withdrawal response to new situations
• Mood tendency to react with positive or
  negative mood, serious, fussy
• Intensity of reaction energy or strength of
  emotional reaction
• Sensitivity comfort with levels of sensory
  information sound, brightness of light, feel of
  clothing, new tastes
• Adaptability ease of managing transitions or
  changes
• Distractibility how easily a childs attention
  is pulled from an activity
• Persistence how long child continues with an
  activity he/she finds difficult
• Adapted with permission from Wittmer and
  Petersen, 2006

26
Temperament Types
27
Temperament Types Flexible, Fearful, and Feisty
istockphoto.com/LisaSvara
http//office.microsoft.com/en-au/default.aspx
http//office.microsoft.com/enau/default.aspx
28
Temperament Traits

• Activity level always active or generally still
• Biological rhythms predictability of hunger,
  sleep, elimination
• Approach/withdrawal response to new situations
• Mood tendency to react with positive or
  negative mood, serious, fussy
• Intensity of reaction energy or strength of
  emotional reaction
• Sensitivity comfort with levels of sensory
  information sound, brightness of light, feel of
  clothing, new tastes
• Adaptability ease of managing transitions or
  changes
• Distractibility how easily a childs attention
  is pulled from an activity
• Persistence how long child continues with an
  activity he/she finds difficult
• Adapted with permission from Wittmer and
  Petersen, 2006

29
Activity

• Considering Temperament Booklet

30
Early Social Emotional Development

• Early mental health or early social
  emotional wellness is the developing capacity of
  the child from birth to 3 to experience,
  regulate, and express emotions form close and
  secure interpersonal relationships and explore
  the environment and learn- all in the context of
  family, community, and cultural expectations for
  young children.
• Developing capacity is a reminder of the
  extraordinarily rapid pace of growth and change
  in the first 3 years of life
• Infants and toddlers depend heavily on adults to
  help them experience, regulate, and express
  emotions
• Through close, nurturing interpersonal
  relationships with parents and other caregivers,
  infants and toddlers learn what people expect of
  them and what they can expect of other people

31
Early Social Emotional Development (contd)

• The drive to explore and master ones environment
  is inborn in humans. Infants and toddlers
  active participation in their own learning and
  development is an important aspect of their
  mental health.
• The context of family and community is where
  infants and toddlers learn to share and
  communicate their feelings and experience with
  significant caregivers and other children. A
  developing sense of oneself as a competent,
  effective, and valued individual is an important
  aspect of infant mental health.
• Culture influences every aspect of human
  development, including how infant mental health
  is understood, adults goals and expectations for
  young childrens development, and the child
  rearing practices used by parents and caregivers.
  
• ZERO TO THREE, 2001

32
Attachment

• Attachment is a pattern of interaction that
  develops over time as the infant or toddler and
  caregiver engage.

33
(No Transcript)
34
Activity

• Attachment Relationships

35
The Developmental Continuum from Birth to 15
months Social and Emotional Indicators
36
The Developmental Continuum from 12 months to 2
½ years Social and Emotional Indicators (contd)
37
The Developmental Continuum from Age 2 ½ - 3 ½
Social and Emotional Indicators (contd)
38
What should the caption for this photograph say?

39
What should the caption for this photograph say?

• Allison Silberber, 2007

40
What should the caption for this photograph say?

• http//office.microsoft.com/en-au/default.aspx

41
What should the caption for this photograph say?

• istockphoto.com/Grafissimo

42
(No Transcript)
43

• Each baby is born into a unique family that has
  its own culture and history, its own strengths,
  and its own way of coping with stress and
  adversity.
• (Parlakian Seibel, 2002)

44

• Families have the most continuous and
  emotionally charged relationship with the child.
  Infants and toddlers learn what people expect of
  them and what they can expect of other people
  through early experiences with parents and other
  caregivers.
• (Day
  Parlakian, 2004)

45
Activity

• Learning About, Expressing, and Managing
  Emotions

46
Factors That Create Challenges for Families

• Poverty
• Nonflexible work situations
• No maternal or paternal leave
• Little support from other family members or
  neighbors
• Challenging relationships with their own families
  
• Substance abuse
• Domestic violence

47
Activity

• Working with Families Inventory

48
Activity

• Essential Positive Messages
• for Each Child

49
Major Messages to Take Home

• Early social emotional wellness develops within
  the context of relationships.
• Caregivers help babies express emotion develop
  emotional regulation and form close, secure
  relationships.
• It is within families that children learn to
  experience and communicate emotion.
• In order to support the social emotional wellness
  of infants and toddlers, as well as their
  families, we need to be aware of our own
  emotional history.