Foster social development in early childhood

Supporting children to build relationships

All areas of Development

http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/braindevelopment/baby-brain-map.html http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/ECD_ Story-Neuroscience_and_early_childhood_dev.pdf

 Self concept (sometimes called selfperception) is how a person sees themselves. It is a persons description of themselves, who they are and what their positive qualities are.

 Erik Erikson proposed the Theory of Psychosocial Development, which maintains that children develop in a predetermined manner.

 Stage 1: Learning basic trust versus basic mistrust (hope)

Period of infancy through the first one or two years of life.

 Stage 2: Learning autonomy versus shame (will)

Occurs during early childhood, approximately between about 18 months or 2 years, and 3-and-a- half to 4 years of age.

 Stage 3: Learning initiative versus guilt (purpose)

Occurs during the play stage, from about 3-and-a-half years onwards.

 Strategies to promote positive interaction with children:

Respond to the behaviour, not the person. Accept and value that children have different feelings and views from yours. Accept and acknowledge diversity. Provide opportunities for children to make their own choices. Use active listening skills. Promote competency. Model empathy. Give specific feedback.

 Friendships can meet the childs needs for:

companionship a sense of belonging socialisation self-esteem and image.

 Piagets (18961980) cognitive theory of development includes the following stages:

Stage 1 Sensorimotor Stage 2 Preoperational Stage 3 Concrete operational Stage 4 Formal operational

 Bandura (1977) believed that children are taught and learn about their social world through observing, modelling of behaviours, attitudes and emotional reactions of others.

 Component processes underlying observational learning:

Attention Retention Reproduction Motivation

 Vgotsky (18961934) described the zone of proximal development as the distance between a persons actual development (as determined by their ability to independently problem-solve) and the level of potential development (as determined through problem-solving with an adult or in collaboration with a more capable peer).

 Social competence refers to the social, emotional and cognitive skills and behaviours that we all need to be successful in our social adaptation.

 Strategies to assist children in communicating their feelings include to:

label feelings model feelings provide images of feelings provide cues and strategies identify emotion through the arts setting behaviour standards acknowledge cultural differences.

 Piaget defines play as assimilation, or the childs efforts to make environmental stimuli match his or her own concepts. Play reflects what the child has already learnt but does not necessarily teach the child anything new.

 Parten (19162009) proposed a theory focused on social interactions between children during play activities and is considered one of the most accurate descriptions of how play develops.

 Partens development stages of play are:

unoccupied onlooker solitary independent parallel associative cooperative.

Planning experiences for children to support and cooperate with others

 Positive acceptance means acknowledging that others are valued and respected.

 Respect is provided and reinforced when each individual child:

is listened to

has their feelings or views acknowledged

is treated fairly has explanations given to questions feels safe.

 Social competence is having the knowledge and skills to be able to interact with others in a positive and appropriate manner and be able to initiate and maintain interactions.

 Skills required to develop and maintain social competence include:

basic interaction skills entry and approach skills maintenance skills friendship skills conflict resolution communication of ideas and needs having a sense of humour assertiveness.

 A child may be socially isolated for any number of reasons. These can include the effects of:
the childs developmental stage an intellectual or physical disability behavioural problems children who speak English as a second language.

 Strategies for promoting confident communication can be encouraged in small groups by:
using guidance asking open-ended questions providing cures to stimulate further interactions grouping more-socially confident children with those who are not so confident providing support for children to enter, establish and sustain communication and play.

 Features of an aesthetically inviting environment include: open shelving that children can access display tables that promote exploration and interaction a large and ample supply of books, games and toys colourful displays of the childrens work and items colourful displays of subjects of interest small group areas activities based on the childrens interests large group areas to promote cooperative play areas set up specifically to promote group work/play.

 In free play situations children can be provided with opportunities for free choice, investigation and interaction with peers, through an environment planned to accommodate these experiences.

 Structured play activities:

are set up to learn a particular skill are based on the need or goal of the child will be directed by the carer.

Providing opportunities for social interaction

 To provide appropriate activities promoting social competency, carers need to know about the child and their:
interests developmental stage and skill level prior knowledge and experiences culture peer group.

 Strategies to develop the skills required for positive and effective interaction include:

providing activities for children to develop their social competence fostering new friendships at meal times highlighting childrens interests for other children to acknowledge encouraging visitors to the centre for children to interact with modelling welcoming behaviour using childrens interests to promote interaction.

 Features of an effective room set-up can include: well-defined spaces for activities arranging furniture to allow freedom of movement and accessibility while maintaining visual monitoring appropriately sized and comfortable furniture welcoming or intimate quiet areas safe areas with appropriate equipment for gross motor activities carefully placed displays of the childrens work open shelving that provides access to culturally inclusive resources an aesthetically pleasing environment.

 Questions to ask when planning and evaluating the care environment:

Are the activities enjoyable? Can the children have fun doing the things they like? Are the children exposed to success or frustration during the day? Are the children going to feel encouraged and accepted? Do the experiences help the children to develop?

 Friendships groups are usually formed or based on:

social ties shared experiences and interests gender.

 Carers show respect and acknowledge each child through:

appropriate interactions individual planning skill development support and guidance celebrating individual achievements assessments.

 Factors to observe and assess can include:

peer relationships and interactions between peers friendships aggression (whether a child uses it and for what purpose) empathy problem-solving skills socio-dramatic play group interactions interactions with others (particularly adults).

 Recording mechanisms can include:

anecdotal notes time samples audio or video taping photographs running records Learning stories Webs Portfolios