Social Emotional Competence

I will be confidential, sensitive, and always have respect for families because families are of primary importance in children’s development. Because the family and the early childhood practitioner have a common interest in the child’s well-being, we acknowledge a primary responsibility to bring about communication, cooperation, and collaboration between the home and early childhood program in ways that enhance the child’s development (NAEYC, 2011).

Daycare can have a positive effect on a child’s development of peer relationships through letting children negotiate learning and allowing the emotional knowledge which will strengthen throughout their lifetime.

The textbook for this course, Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers, is based on ten principles for child care that are outlined by researcher Magda Gerber in the 1970’s. The ten principles are based on a philosophy of respect. In addition to the ten principles, a caregiver should know the “Three-R’s” for interaction. The Three R’s are respectful, responsive and reciprocal.

Social workers must be familiar with attachment theory for several reasons. One example is how a person has developed attachment will greatly influence how they connect with and maintain relationships in their lives. Moreover, having a firm grasp of attachment theory provides a social worker with a starting point to assess their client and subsequently determine an appropriate course of action to help a client obtain healthier and fulfilling relationships. For social workers to identify the attachment styles of an individual they must be familiar with the patterns of attachment and the characteristics of each. The most common and desirable forms of the attachment patterns is secure attachment. Research suggests that children who demonstrate secure attachment styles go on to have more positive social interactions which lead to learning how to trust others and increases self-esteem (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013). Additionally, it is important for social workers to know the what contributes to children obtaining secure attachment. Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2013) highlight that caregivers which spend significant time with their child, react to their child’s needs, the caregiver has a deep commitment to the child and are emotionally responsive, and a caregiver is present over a long period. Providing training for caregivers to learn how

Secured attachment is extremely important in the developmental stages of an infant. Secure attachment is when an infant feels distressed when they are separated from their caregivers and feels happy when their caregiver returns. Research from this article suggests that, when an infant does not receive the comfort they need from their caregiver for secure attachments, it can have a negative impact on their behaviour later on in their childhood and throughout life. Infants who have secured attachments tend to develop stronger self-esteem as they grow older, they also tend to be more independent and successful in socialising. Those children are also less likely to experience less depression and anxiety.

At 24 months, mothers had a score of .34 and the alternative caregivers had a score that increase dramatically to .49. At 36 months, both the mother and the alternative caregivers had scores of .52. Most of the mothers of this study were able to form secure attachments with the children. This was also true for the alternative caregivers of the children. It is believed that having a secure attachment leads to higher resiliency of children, adding another protective factor (Howes & Wishard, 2009). It is unknown, however, if this is only a protective factor if the secure attachment is with the primary caregiver or if it can be with an alternative caregiver as well. The study also did not clarify if the infants had secure attachments to more than one person or if it was only with one caregiver. This could be important if the insecure attachment is with the primary caregiver who they spend the most time

SSGT Joseph White came into the local VA Community based clinic for medical care. When he was discussing his situation at home, the medical doctor found that it would beneficial that the social worker talk with SSGT White. The social worker obtained an appropriate assessment to assist with finding services that would be available to him through the VA and/or local community organizations for his symptoms and treatment options.

There are a great number of studies that state that the first five years of a child’s development are the most important and that they will set the tone for the child’s ability to learn, socialize, and be a successful member of society. Because of this, proponents believe that preschool should become mandatory for all children. While this might seem like a good solution to some, preschool should not be mandatory for all children before they enter kindergarten. There are many factors to be considered in a child 's early development and to put a blanket demand on entering preschool, could be a disservice to some children based on parental influences, environmental factors, and the level of education and care being given in a particular home childcare

Differences occur in the degree to which infant-mother relationships are characterized by experiences of security (Levy & Blatt 1999). Some mothers are slow in response to their infant cries. The infants of these mothers cry more often and explore less than securely attachment infants (Levy & Blatt 1999). Many infants eventually try to avoid mothers who previously had frequently rejected them or turn deaf hears to their cry. This establishes the avoidant attachment in kids (Levy & Blatt 1999).

An ongoing discussion about the way teachers and children interact in daycare settings has been a topic of interest for many people who work and study in the field of early childhood psychology. Starting on June 10, 2013 and continuing through June 14, 2013, I conducted ethnographic field research about the most current ways daycare employees and children seem to interact on a daily basis. The research I was most interested with took place during times of play. Specifically, I wanted to examine how many times teachers and daycare students came into friendly physical contact on an average basis. To collect more information for this study, I entered the realm of childhood daycare via my local Childcare Network facility in my hometown of Chatsworth, GA. I

states that they are primarily based on the infants needs for security and safety, and that they learn as they grow that their safety is best provided by a particular individual. This is what leads to the special relationship with the primary caregiver (pp 177). Responding to Izzie’s needs, behavioral cures, and being consistent in parenting I believe has led her to develop a secured attachment. A secured attachment is defined by the textbook as a style of attachment where a child uses the mother as a kind of home base and is at ease when she is present. They explore independently, returning to her occasionally. Although they may or may not appear upset when she leaves, they will immediately go to her and seek contact when she returns

Research of over the course 30 years showed that infants are far more competent, social, and responsive and are able to make sense of their environment. Infants are no longer regarded as passive and do not only respond to stimuli (Fantz, 1963).

It is essential to communicate emotions so that you can send the right meaning to other people in interpersonal communication. It is important to remember that communication is irreversible, so once said, a message cannot be erased (mentally or emotionally.) To achieve emotional competence within interpersonal communication, you must understand, describe, and express your feelings, and handle/manage anger and fear properly. There are two parts to cumulating emotional competence, which are yourself and other individuals. You must also understand the principles of emotions so you can effectively use them to improve your relationships with others through interpersonal communication. In the Interpersonal Communication textbook, Joseph Devito states that “So important is emotional communication that it is at the heart of what is now called ‘emotional intelligence’ or ‘social intelligence.’ And, it’s been shown that without emotions, decision making is impaired and often rendered

Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional

"I consider social skills a bit like learning a language. I've been practicing it for so long over so many years I've almost lost my accent."