Promoting Social and Emotional Growth in Young Children
In a world that overemphasizes academic performance and standardized testing in young children, education consultants and teachers have long advocated for healthy social and emotional development.
A Brief History of Standardized Testing
While standardized tests have existed across the globe for centuries—some going as far back as the Sui Dynasty’s bureaucratic imperial examination in the year 605—they became a critical cornerstone of U.S. public education during the Cold War. Testing was initially modeled after the Army Alpha and Beta Tests of World War I, which measured for ability, rather than achievement. They allowed the military to rank members based on their potential and identify where to best allocate their resources.
These exams soon entered our public school system as a means to sort children based on potential. In other words, they indicated to educators which children were too “slow” and which children were more deserving of resources.
In the middle of the Cold War, our political culture shifted into direct competition between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. American leaders believed that “the struggle for supremacy over the Soviets should be played out in economic productivity, advancement of science and technology, and exploration of space”. As a country, we needed an abundance of scholars and intellectual advancement in the fields of science and mathematics. Unfortunately, our students could not compete with our European counterparts. After all, widespread Western schools developed as an economic solution to prepare the masses for the workforce.
In the 1960’s, we needed our schools to begin producing a country of STEM leaders and innovators. Standardized testing—and curriculum—became a coveted solution to reach our economic and political goals.
To the dismay of educators, psychological experts, and families across the country, this culture of intense testing and academic focus has trickled into the preschool classroom. Children as young as three are expected to show reading and writing skills that are not developmentally-appropriate for their age. They are asked to sit for inappropriate lengths of time and practice rote memorization as a part of “school readiness”. The high demands of kindergarten have shifted how young children begin their educational experiences.
Blocks are replaced with worksheets. We are often asked to teach phonics before teaching children how to interpret others’ emotional needs or communicate in positive ways.
Today’s Shift
Thankfully, a growing body of educators and caregivers are bringing socioemotional development back to the forefront of early education. Research highlights the important role of nonacademic qualities in lifelong success and happiness[1] . These include grit, perseverance, empathy, and curiosity. High quality Pre-K programs are ones that create a positive environment for children and respond to their social and emotional needs.
When faced with difficult situations, our greatest strength will be our ability to persevere, find creative solutions, and communicate clearly with our support system. All of these skills are nurtured in early childhood and will carry on into adulthood. We are proud to promote such skills in our young learners.
Preschool is the time to learn empathy. When children set their own goals during independent, guided play, they practice collaboration, communication, and imaginative thinking. Our work directly supports a child’s self-esteem and confidence. We encourage them to step out of their comfort zone in a secure environment. We teach positive strategies for emotional distress and conflict. We emphasize healthy socioemotional development that will help children succeed in academic settings.
More importantly, our work will promote lifelong happiness and fulfillment. And as much as the researcher in us can try, some things in life can’t be tested!
The Role of Play
Of course, we can’t discuss childhood learning without mentioning the most important setting in which a child learns. If you’ve been following our story, you know that play is the work of children.
According to child researcher and professor Dr. Howard Chudacoff, an individual “acquires vital social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills through play, thereby learning how to prepare for a future role as a productive adult.” (We even take this a step further and challenge the notion of becoming solely “productive” adults. We envision a world where measurements of happiness and positive social impact are as important, if not more, than productivity.)
If we want children to develop into well-adjusted and empathetic adults, we have to begin by supporting their right to play.
Checklist for Promoting Your Child’s Socio-emotional Development Through Play
Early childhood education is very important. Use this resource to help support your child’s social and emotional growth. Whether at school or at home, this checklist can help you consider how you promote healthy skills and experiences in your child’s play experiences.
Does my child engage in play for a significant part of their day?
Play is an ideal setting for children to learn diverse skills and knowledge. We encourage you to spend a good portion of the day in play with your child.
Is my child’s play diverse and varied?
Chudacoff’s definition of play is complex. He investigates the play’s environment, the play materials, the dramatis personae (i.e., who is playing), and the freedom or autonomy a child has over their play experience.
We encourage you to consider these four factors when reflecting on your child’s play. How can you diversify or vary any of these components of play?
What new, open-ended materials can you incorporate? When you play with your child, do you lead the narrative or follow their lead?
Reflect on their play experience and think of how to extend and enrich it.
Does my child have access to socio-emotional materials?
Begin with the stories in your library. Think about the books your child is reading each day. Books are a powerful way to teach about empathy, patience, kindness, courage, and self-confidence. Do you have a diverse library that touches on the skills you want your child to learn?
If you are struggling with a specific obstacle or goal in your child’s life, think about creating a social story. A social story is a social learning tool that supports safe and positive growth for its audience. It is a book that explains the child’s lived experiences and reflects for them a healthy strategy or approach to cope. For example, if Lina is struggling to share and hits her siblings when they play games, find (or create!) a social story about Lina’s experience. The story will explain the situation, perhaps why a child might hit when they are angry, and the story will offer the child safe ways to express themselves.
Some amazing resources on social stories are here: https://www.andnextcomesl.com/p/printable-social-stories.html
A fantastic center for building socio-emotional skills is dramatic play, or pretend. Remember, this does not just mean “kitchen” or “playing house”, two themes that our young girls are encouraged to explore, while little boys are often discouraged and ridiculed when they participate. Consider adding puppets and dolls; these materials help children explore a different voice. When acting as another character, they learn how to narrate another person’s needs, ideas, perspectives, and intentions.
How do I model healthy social and emotional behaviors for my child?
Children learn directly from the caregivers and adults in their lives. Reflect on the skills that you want your young child to learn. Now, ask which of those qualities you demonstrate in front of your child...and which may need a refresher! We find that we are able to clearly identify these values and qualities in our children, but how often do we consider our own abilities?
Your child will mirror what you reflect to them. Every moment is a teachable moment, especially when it comes to positive social and emotional growth.
For classroom schedule or more early childhood educational resources, feel free to schedule a consultation session.
Our responsibility as educators is to support a child’s social and emotional development. We hope reading this post has helped you better understand our education system and why certain school practices exist. Now, we challenge you to honor developmentally-appropriate experiences as a foundation of your child’s learning. As an education consultant, I will make my best efforts to help you out through my experience in early childhood education.
