Ways to Encourage Social and Emotional Development at Home

Children’s emotional well-being has a great impact on the way they are able to establish and maintain relationships throughout their lives. Monitoring your preschooler’s physical development is easy to do, but making sure that they are on the right path as far as social and emotional development are concerned can be a bit trickier. By the age of 3 or 4, children should be reaching certain social and emotional milestones.

How do you know if your child is developing age-appropriate social and emotional skills?

• Can they correctly state their gender and age?
• Can they recite their first and last names, and the names of parents?
• Can they take care of their own needs, such as washing hands and dressing?
• Do they adjust to new situations without an adult being present?
• Are they starting to notice other people’s moods and feelings?
• Are they starting to learn to take turns, share, and cooperate?
• Do they expresses anger with words rather than acting out physically?

Understanding the social and emotional skills that your child should posses will help you reinforce them at home. Practicing the following activities are fun and important ways to help them develop and reach their milestones.

• Provide structure and establish a daily routine to create a secure environment for your child.
• Encourage their independence. Acknowledge a job well done when your child brushes their own teeth, feeds a pet or dresses themselves.
• Practice reciting your child’s name, gender, age and address with them.
• Play games that require your child to wait their turn, and cooperate with others.
• Organize play dates with other children their age. Regular social contact is key in helping your child reach their milestones. During the play date, make sure to observe their interaction and how they handle conflict in the play group.

At Miss Sue’s, our main goal is to foster an awareness in the children of the world around them while presenting the social, emotional and conceptual skills appropriate for each age and each stage of  their development. To learn more about Miss Sue's, visit us on Facebook or Twitter, or call 516-938-0894 today.