The document discusses the socio-emotional development of infants and toddlers, emphasizing the importance of attachment and temperament in shaping emotional skills and relationships. It outlines different stages of emotional development from birth to three years, including the emergence of emotions such as fear, pride, and shame. It also references Erikson’s psychosocial theory, highlighting the developmental milestones that occur during these formative years.

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SOCIO-EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
INFANTS AND
TODDLERS
Prepared by: Clint Byron Flores
Jamaica Bosboso

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INTRODUCTION
Simply put, socio-emotional development
has something to do with the development of a
person’s ability to master one’s emotion and the
ability to relate to others. It necessarily includes
temperament, attachments and social skills.

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ABSTRACTION
Much has been said about the importance of the first
three years in human development. They are so-called the
formative years that is why, parents and other caregivers at
this stage of human development play a significant role in
the development of infants and toddlers.
THE FORMATIVE YEARS

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ABSTRACTION
AT TA C H M E N T
• For healthy socio-emotional development, the
infant needs to establish an enduring emotional bond
characterized by a tendency to seek and maintain
closeness to a specific figure, particularly during stressful
situation. This is the social phenomenon of attachment.
• According to Dr. John Bowly, the father of attachment
theory, the beginnings, of attachment occur within the
first 6 months of a baby's life with a variety of built-in
signals that baby uses to keep her caregiver engaged.

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ABSTRACTION
ATTACHMENT
• The baby cries, gazed into her mother's eyes,
smiles, etc. In the next few months, the baby
develops in her degree of attachment to her parents.
She smiles more freely at them than at any stranger
whom she seldom sees.
• The key to a good start in the social development of
the baby is a lot of responsive interaction with the
baby. Babies thrive on social interaction when it is in
response to their social bids. Babies seem to let us
know when they want to interact or not. The timing
of the caregiver's response to the baby is important.

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ABSTRACTION
ATTACHMENT
• Infants attach to more than one caregiver and they are
developing emotional relationships with multiple caregivers at
once.
• Even when a children are in child care for more than 30 hours per
week, the family contributes more to child's social and cognitive
well-being than does the child care arrangement. Parents matter
and children are attached to a parents even when children are in
child care.
• Parents and caregivers help children regulate their emotions by
working with them and by serving as their models.

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ABSTRACTION
TEMPERAMENT
1. Another factor to the infant's socio-
emotional development is temperament.
Temperament is a word that " captures the ways that
people differ, even at birth, in such things as their
emotional reactions, activity level, attention span,
persistence, and ability to regulate their emotions"
(K. Pasek and R. Golinkoff, 2003). Every baby
expresses personality traits we call temperament.
How a child responds emotionally to objects, events,
and people is a reflection of his individual
temperament.

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ABSTRACTION
TEMPERAMENT
2. Researchers Thomas, Chess, and Birch described nine different
temperament categories: Nurturing Infant- Toddler Attachments in
Early Care Setting. These Include:
*Activity level *Distractibility
*Mood *Adaptability
*Threshold for distress *Persistence
*Rhythmicity
*Intensity of response
*Approach-Withdrawal

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ABSTRACTION
TEMPERAMENT
To determine a child's temperament, make the following
observation:
• Activity level. Some babies are placid or inactive. Other
babies thrash about a lot and, as toddlers, are always on the
move. At this stage, they must be watches carefully.
• The mood. Some babies are very smiley and cheerful.
Although securely attached emotionally to their teachers,
others have a low- key mood and look more solemn or
unhappy

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ABSTRACTION
TEMPERAMENT
• Child's threshold for distress. Some babies are
very sensitive. They become upset very easily when
stressed. Other babies can more comfortably wait
when they need a feeding or some attention
• The rhythmicity of children. Some babies get hungry
or sleepy on a fairly regular and predictable basis.
Other babies sleep at varying times, urinate or have
bowel movements at unpredictable times, and get
hungry at different times. They are hard to put on a
"schedule"

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ABSTRACTION
TEMPERAMENT
• The intensity of response in each baby. When
a baby's threshold for distress has been reached,
some babies act restless. Other act cranky or fret just
a little.
• Approach to new situations. Some infants are very
cautious. They wary and fearful of new teachers,
being placed in a different crib, or being taken to
visit a new setting. Other infants approach new
persons, new activities, or new play possibilities with
zest and enjoyment.

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ABSTRACTION
TEMPERAMENT
• Distraction. Some children can
concentrate on a toy regardless of surrounding
bustle or noise in a room. Others are easily
distracted.
• Adaptability of each child. Some children
react to strange or difficult situations with
distress, but recover fairly rapidly. Other
adjust to new situations with difficulty or after
a very long period.

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ABSTRACTION
TEMPERAMENT
• Child's attention span. Some children have a
long attention span. They continue with an activity
for a fairly long time. Others flit from one activity to
another.
• Based on these temperament traits, psychiatrists
Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess studied babies'
temperament and clustered temperaments into 3
basic types: 1) the easy child. 2) the difficult child;
and 3) the slow-to-warm up child and those that did
not fall under any of the 3 basic types.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Early infancy (birth-six months)
• It is not clear whether infants actually experience
emotion's, or if adults, using adult facial expressions
as the standard, simply superimpose their own
understanding of the meaning of infant facial
expressions
• Between six and ten weeks, a social smiles emerges,
usually accompanied by other pleasure-indicative
actions and sounds, including cooing and mouthing.
This social smiles occurs in response to adult smiles
and interaction.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Early infancy (birth-six months)
• As infants become more aware of their environment, smiling
occurs in response to a wider variety of contexts. They may
smile when they see a toy they have previously enjoyed.
Laughter, which begins at around three or four months,
requires a cognitive development because it demonstrates
that the child can recognize incongruity. That is, laughter is
usually elicited by actions that deviate from the norm, such as
being kissed on the abdomen or a caregiver playing peek-a-
boo. Because it fosters reciprocal interactions with others,
laughter promotes social development.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Later Infancy (7 to 12 months)
• During the last half of the first year, infants begin expressing
fear, disgust, and anger because of the maturation of
cognitive abilities. Anger, often expressed by crying, is a
frequent emotion expressed by infants. Although some
infants respond to distressing events with sadness, anger is
more common.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Later Infancy (7 to 12 months)
• Fear also emerge during this stage as children become able to
compare an unfamiliar event with what they know. Unfamiliar
situations or objects often elicit fear responses in infants.
One of the most common is the presence of an adult stranger,
a fear that begins to appear at about seven months. A second
fear of this stage called separation anxiety. Infants seven to
twelve months old may cry in fear if the mother or caregiver
leaves them in an unfamiliar place.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Later Infancy (7 to 12 months)
• Socialization of emotion begins in infancy. It is
thought that this process is significant in the infant's
acquisition of cultural and social codes for emotional
display, teaching them how to express their
emotions, and the degree of acceptability associated
with different types of emotional behaviors..

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Later Infancy (7 to 12 months)
• Another process that emerges during this stage is
social referencing. Infants begin to recognize the
emotions of others and use this information when
reacting to novel situations and people. As infants
explore their world, they generally rely on the
emotional expressions of their mothers or caregivers
to determine the safety or appropriateness of a
particular endeavor.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Toddlerhood years (1-2)
• During the second year, infants express
emotions of shame or embarrassment and
pride. These emotions mature in all children
and adults contribute to their development.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Emotional understanding
• During this stage of development, toddlers acquire
language and are learning to verbally express their
feelings. This ability, rudimentary as it is during early
toddlerhood, is the first step in the development of
emotional self-regulation skills.
• In infancy, children largely rely on adults to help
them regulate their emotional states. If they are
uncomfortable they may be able communicate this
state by crying, but have little hope of alleviating the
discomfort on their own.

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ABSTRACTION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION
Emotional understanding
• In toddlerhood, however, children begin to develop
skills to regulate their emotions with the emergence
of language providing an important tool to assist in
this process. Being able to articulate an emotional
state in itself has a regulatory effect in that it
enables children to communicate their feelings to a
person capable of helping them manage their
emotional state. Speech also enables children to self-
regulate, using soothing language to talk themselves
through difficult situations.

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ABSTRACTION
ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY
The first two stages (of the 8 stages of a person's
psychosocial development) apply at the periods of
infancy and toddlerhood, that is why they are
discussed below:

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ABSTRACTION
ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY
Hope: Trust vs. Mistrust (Infants, 0 to 1 year)
• Psychosocial Crisis: Trust vs. Mistrust
• Virtue: Hope

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ABSTRACTION
ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY
Will: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (Toddlers, 2 to 3
years)
• Psychosocial Crisis: Autonomy vs. Shame &
Doubt
• Main Question: "Can I do things myself or
must I always rely on others?"
• Virtue: Will

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MILESTONE
Age Milestone
The first
year
From the start, babies eagerly explore their world-and th includes themselves
and other people.
birth to
3
months
Babies spend a lot of time getting to know their own bodies
They:
• suck their own fingers
• observe their own hands
• look at the place on the body that is being touched
• begin to realize she is a separate person from others and learn how body
parts, like arms and legs, are attached

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MILESTONE
Age Milestone
birth to 3
months
Infants are interested in other people and learn to recogniz primary caregivers.
Most infants:
• can be comforted by a familiar adult
• respond positively to touch interact best when in an alert state or in an
inactive an attentive state
• benefit from short, frequent interactions more than long infrequent ones
• smile and show pleasure in response to social stimulation
3 months
to 6
months
Babies are more likely to initiate social interaction. They begin to:
• play peek-a-boo
• pay attention to own name
• smile spontaneously
• laugh aloud

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MILESTONE
Age Milestone
6
months
to 9
months
Babies show a wider emotional range and stronger preferences for familiar people.
Most can:
• express several clearly differentiated emotions
• distinguish friends from strangers
• respond actively to language and gestures
• show displeasure at the loss of a toy
9
months
to 12
months
As they near age one, imitation and self-regulation gain importance. Most babies can:
• feed themselves finger foods
• hold a cup with two hands and drink with assistance
• hold out arms and legs while being dressed
• mimic simple actions
• show anxiety when separated from primary caregiver

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MILESTONE
Age Milestone
1 year
to 2
years
Children become more aware of themselves and their ability to make things
happen. They express a wider range of emotions and are more likely to
initiate interaction with other people. At this stage, most children:
• recognize themselves in pictures or the mirror and smile or make faces
at themselves
• show intense feelings for parents and show affection for other familiar
people
• play by themselves and initiate their own play
• express negative feelings
• show pride and pleasure at new accomplishments
• imitate adult behaviors in play
• show a strong sense of self through assertiveness, directing others

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MILESTONE
Age Milestone
2 years
to 3
years
Children begin to experience themselves as more powerful, creative "doers." They
explore everything, show a stronger sense of self and expand their range of self-
help skills. Self-regulation is a big challenge. Two-year-old are likely to:
• show awareness of gender identity
• indicate toileting needs
• help to dress and undress themselves be assertive about their preferences
and say no to adult requests
• begin self-evaluation and develop notions of themselves as good, bad,
attractive, etc.
• show awareness of their own feelings and those of others, and talk about
feelings
• experience rapid mood shifts and show increased fearfulness (for example,
fear of the dark, or certain objects)
• display aggressive feelings and behaviors

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Thank you
for
Listening!