Infants Toddlers and Twos Chapter 3 (7th)

Chapter 3

Birth to Thirty-six Months: Social and Emotional

Developmental Patterns

©2011 Cengage Learning.All Rights Reserved.

Patterns of Emotional Development

• Evolution of Feelings– Infants experience and express the full

range of human emotion from ecstasy to deep sorrow.

– Infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable to painful experiences because of their lack of defenses.

– Infants are limited in their ability to understand the impact of their behaviors on others.



• Erikson’s Psychosocial theory • Eight crises or stages from infancy

through old age, the first three are extremely important in the development of infants and toddlers:– Basic trust versus mistrust– Autonomy versus shame and doubt– Initiative versus guilt


Patterns of Emotional Development • Mahler’s Bonding and

Separation-Individuation Theory• Personality development, security,

trust, and self-concept are all related to the attachment between infant and caregivers and how separation-individuation from caregivers is conducted and experienced by the child:– Separation-Individuation



• Temperament• All children are born with particular

temperaments.• A growing body of research strongly suggests

that child-rearing practices and other environmental factors can dramatically influence temperament during the first three years.

• Nine behavioral categories of Temperament (Chess, Thomas, and Birch)



• Emotional Intelligence• Goleman defined five domains that are learned

early in life and are necessary for high emotional intelligence and healthy identity development:– Knowing one’s emotions– Managing emotions– Motivating oneself– Recognizing emotions in others– Handling relationships



• Self-Esteem• It is important that children think

they are worthy people.• Coopersmith’s three conditions for

fostering self-esteem:– Acceptance– Limits– Respect


Patterns of Social Development

• Relationship Development• When the caregiver respects the baby’s

body, the baby feels secure and loved.• When the caregiver respects the baby’s

feelings and provides a positive emotional connection, the baby feels secure.

• The skill of handling relationships requires that the caregiver manage her own emotions, demonstrate sensitivity to the child’s feelings, and communicate in a way that creates interactional synchrony.



• The Importance of Attachment

• Most research on caregiver-child relationships has examined infants with their parents. The findings from this research apply equally well to infant-caregiver relationships.

• When caregivers learn the child’s needs, schedules, likes and dislikes, and temperament and respond to the child’s preferences, they teach infants that they are an important person.



• The Importance of Attachment (continued)

• The primary caregiver has two main responsibilities: – (1) to establish a special attachment

with the child and – (2) to gather, coordinate, and share

information about the child with other caregivers and the family.



• Locus of Control Development: Self-Control and Self-Responsibility

• Two domains of emotional intelligence are self-motivation and self-control, and good self-esteem requires self-responsibility.

• Therefore, understanding development of a healthy internal locus of control is essential for caregivers of young children.

• Development of an internal locus of control requires that caregivers respect the right of young children to make many choices within their environment, including choosing their behavior.



• Prosocial behaviors• Adults who provide feedback about

appropriate, helpful behaviors, emphasizing the impact of the child’s actions on another person, tend to be associated with children who engage in more prosocial behavior.


Children with Special Rights

• Areas of special rights in regards to emotional and social development:– Children with Autism– Attachment Disorder – Mental Health Disorders – Children with Multiple Disabilities– Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal

Alcohol Effect (FAS/FAE). – Environmentally-Promoted Problems for Infants

and Toddlers


Spotlight on Research• Father-child interactions and developmental outcomes

– Researchers have shifted their focus to include the important and differential roles that fathers play in developmental outcomes.

– Fathers seem to provide an important context as children are learning to regulate their emotions.

– Various aspects of father involvement were associated with greater babbling and exploring objects with a purpose as well as a lower likelihood of infant cognitive delay, and with complex symbol use and symbolic play.

– Educators need to create policies and engage in practices that actively involve fathers in the care and education of their infants and toddlers.


Checkpoint Discussion Questions

• How can you apply Margaret Mahler’s separation-individuation substages to your work with very young children?

• What factors influence how teachers use the concept of goodness-of-fit with children in their care? Why is it important to realize this concept with each child?

• How does a child’s emotional IQ influence her relationships with others?

• Explain why caregivers should establish interactional synchrony with children.



• What does it mean for a child to be securely attached? Insecurely attached? Why is it important for caregivers to establish secure relationships with the infants and toddlers in their care?

• What are the pros and cons of a child developing an internal locus of control? An external locus of control?

• Provide and explain an example of a teacher facilitating the development of prosocial skills in a toddler.



• Explain three special rights very young children might have in relationship to emotional and social development.

• What is your role as an education professional regarding children with special rights?


Education

Infants Toddlers and Twos Chapter 3 (7th)