Domain 11 Social emotional Development

School readiness skills
Before your infant gets to kindergarten she must be equipted with social/emotional readiness skills.
Here are some of the concepts:
1. Interactions with adults
2.Being able to seek assistance from adults
3.The ability to take risk
4.Interact with peers
5.Being able to cooperate
6.Being able to negociate
7.Being able to adapt to different spaces
8.Being able to adapt -group activities
9.Being able to adapt in diverse settings
10.Epathy
11. Should be able to appreciate diversity
12.Self-concept-
13 Self-concept-the ability to express prefrences
14-Being able to self-regulate
15-Being able to express emotions

Social development

This begins with an attachment to a caring adult/s. This happens as your baby begins to build a trusting relationship through the dance that takes place between the care giver and the infant . When the care giver is able to read they infants cues the dance becomes easier.When children develop trusting relationships  with adults they learn how to develop relationships with other adults/children. Positive relatoionships are very important.These relationships are the roots for all other relationships. These are the skills that your baby needs for school.

Emotional development

Means that a  young child is able to  recognize,express  manage her emotions and they should be able to recognize the emotions of others. Your baby needs to learn how to express  different emotions-happiness,laughter,sadness,frustration and anger, this should be done in a healthy way.The ability to manage emotions is called self-regulation. This must be taught during the infant/toddler years
0-3years old. Self esteem is  also a big part of  emotional development.

The whole child

When you have a baby you must develop tha whole child. You cannot work just on speech,oe just on fine motor skills,or just on listening skills. Brain development must be done  with all areas of the brain. The brain is wired for learning however you must give the experiences that will allow  your baby to connect the wires.Keep in mind that the first 2000 days are critical for brain development.

The First 2000 days campaign

Brain development is very important during the first three years of life . The foundation for learning  I must be formed from 0-3 years old.Here is a site that you can look at with  latest research.  As we live we learn more and we adjust policies to accomdate the new information. We need to be open minded and stop saying" you can't tell me how to grow my child because this is what my grandmother did". What your grand mother did was appropriate for that time period. We are living in a different period now and our children  require different skills.You are their mirror to the world always keep that in mind.

Here is a website that you can share with your friends that have a new born or a child 0-3 years old.


Brain development is crucial in the first 2000 days. Your infant/toddlers must be given a number of experiences that will develop all parts of the brain at once
www.developingchild.net

Quality care--what to look for in the childcare

Over the years I have worked in a   many childcare programs I have also visited many. Some of these centers do not have all the components in order to ensure that the children that they  will meet their  developmental mile stones. I currently help to set up centers and  I ensure that the components are there that will give the quality  care that the children need:
The staff should be well trained in Early Childhood Development (0-3) When staff are trained they will be able to create age appropriate activities. The environment should be interactive. There should  use routines to promote learning.There should be time for messy  activities/active play /small group and individual play. items should be at eye level and children should have easy access, this teaches independence and they  begin to make choices.Group size is very important(ratio)  this allows  care givers and children to have one on one.
It is also important for children to have continuity of care. Infants and toddlers thrive in worm relationships. Programs that have a new teacher every   few months  is  not healthy emotionally for your infant,this is true for a baby sitter also.
Family involvement is a very important component  of a good childcare program.Does your program respect your cultural norms.Your program should have a comprehensive support system because you need to educate the whole child.Your program should also empower the parents to become advocates for their children.

Social /emotional development-Self-concept

The first 2000 days
You should involve your infant /toddlers into family traditions,rituals and traditions. It is very important for you to teach  family values  to your infant/toddler. When your child gets to kindergarten he must be comfortable with who she is.
Your infant/toddler must be given the opportunity to choose the toy that he wants to play with. Your child should be able to respond to a  request for example if you say jump he should be able to,if you ask her to clap during a song. You should begin to help children to name body parts early during bath time.
 You should provide children with a number of materials and experiences that help her to discover prefrences and abilities.

The Power of Your Baby Sitter

Do you realize the power that your baby sitter has?Your baby sitter is nurturning the most critical years of your baby from birth to age three. When your baby is born her brain is 25% developed and by four years old it is 95% developed. Durning these years your baby needs to be given the social emotional school readiness skills for school. Is your baby sitter/nanny  trained in infant/toddler  stages of development?Your baby will be tomorrow's workers. Who is preparing her for the nation's futuer?We feel that all caregivers of children ages 0-3  should take some trainings in infant/toddler development.The roots of socialization is planted durning these years. What do you think?

Adaptive social bevavior - empathy

The first 2000 days
Your infant/toddler must learn empathy.  Talk with your infant about emotions such as sad,happy ,afraid . You can read books about emotions . As your infant  develops you should discuss emotions with her. When your infant hits you ar anyone you should explain to your infant that hurting is not nice ans she should use nice hands. Discuss that hurting makes people  sad. If your infant hits you pretend to cry  and observe the look on your infants face. Empathy is a skill that your infant needs.
 Research has shown that many criminals  were not  taught empathy  durning thier infant/toddler years.

Giving your baby time

Your baby is now fifteen months. You are feeding your baby with a spoon, at times she holds the spoon and helps you bring it to her mouth. She is letting you know that she is ready for that experience ,in orther words she is ready for the next stage of develoment,learning to feed herself with a spoon. Now you should add a spoon to the baby's play items. Many of the baby plastic spoons  have a long handle you should cut the handle. You want your baby to be able to manage the spoon. You must be in tune with your baby in order to read these cues.Adding a spoon to your baby's play allows her to practice her hand/mouth coordination, she will not be able to pick items up  in the spoon  because she must first practice getting the spoon to her mouth. She will also put the spoon backwords in her mouth. This is all a partt of the developmental process.
You will observe  her practicing on her own. This is called discovery.Learning should not be stressful because this will become frustrating  and will turn your baby off.It is important that you help your baby along the developmental stages  by allowing her to practice her new discovery.

The first 2000 days

Social and emotional development
Before your infant gets to kindergarten she must be able to inter-act with adults and seek help when t needed. I have observed  many parents do not allow their infant/toddler to try an activity they (the parents) rush to do everything for the infant/toddler. You must allow your infant to try the activity when she  realizes that she needs help she will ask. If you do everything for her then she will not learn to try. You should not ask the child "do you want me to help you" she will mostly say yes. Allow here to exhault all the possibilities .This is critical thinking.

Puzzle 2.10.13

When my grandson turned 9 month I bought him a three piece puzzle with the big knobs. He is now 16months and today he was able to put two pieces in the correct space. He was able to because he has had it for months practicing . He usually plays with the pieces and he would hit them together to make music. Infants and toddlers must be allowed to experience materials over a period of time before you begin to teach using the material. He was able to figure out how to do the puzzle because he  is learning how to  steady his wrist and his fingers. Early experiences such as these will prevent your child from being referred for O.T. Occuptional Therapy. This activity also builds self-esteem. We celebrated when he  discovered that he can fit the puzzle into the space.This is also eye hand coordination,fine muscles control. He is learning  that he can accomplish things.
When we noticed that he put the two pieces in we celebrated and he had a great big smile on his face and he kept repeating the behavior. Each time he did it he clapped.

Baby and wee Session Saturday Feb 16th 2013

We had a great session yesterday. We discussed the  importance of developing  fine motor skills during the infant/toddler years.Parents had an opportunity to network. We discussed  and demonstrated how parents  can use found materials at home to develop social emotional skills. With a focus on fine motor development. Here are a few pics. We hope that you will join us. For information email us at Dasetagray@gmail.com or call  347-5244178

Baby and Wee

Reminder - Our baby abd wee class in on tomorrow.
We hope to see you there

Adapative-social behavior

Your baby should be exposed to different enviornments . Take your baby on trips . Check for free activities in your city or community for  families and take your baby . When yor baby gets to kindergarten she will be interacting with different enviornments and different children and she should be abe to adapt to different enviornments.

Co-orperate

Your infant/toddler should be able to co-operate when she gets to kindergarten. This is the ability to transition from one activity to the next without throwing a tantrum. Teachers will "say this child does not know how to listen",it means the child is not cooperating. If she is throwing blocks at a friend and she is instructed to stop she does not. At home you must teach your infant how to cooperate. You can do this by praising your infant for pro-social behaviors. You should try not to let anti-social behaviors be the best way to get attention. When your infant begins moving around she will be touching,climbing etc. This is how they learn about the world. You should make the space safe for exploration. When she touches items that are not safe in a calm voice explain why that item cannot be touched and moveing items our of the infants reach is the safe thing to do. You should focus on the behavior that you want. This is the begining of teaching self descipline and it should be done in a positive way.
 Discipline teaches compliance. Discipline focuses on the rule that you want your infant/toddler to learn and the good reasons for the rule"not on the wrong doing". Positive discipline helps the child to develop confidence in the world.  This objective of discipline is to have the child obey rules when you are not around. When the child gets to school following rules and cooperating will not be an issue.  It is important for you to give these skills to your child during the infant/toddler age 0-3 years old.You must praise your infant/toddler for pro-social behaviors because it builds self-esteem.
Childern that  lacks these skills usually spend a lot of time in the time out chair. They become resentful,the other children begin to see them as bad, that is the only time they get attention.These children begin to internalize "the concept of being bad" and continue along this path. They also fall behind because so much time is spent trying to teach them how to cooperate.I am sure that you see my point????

Comminication

Your baby should be able to communicate her feelings. This skill is needed for school. That is why you should not speak baby language to your infant. Your infant should not have a pacifier ih her mout most of the time. This slows down her speech. You should read stories and discuss the stories with your  baby the books must be age appropriate.Your baby must be able to communicate her feelings because this will reduce hitting when your child goes to school. Many chldren that lacks language hits a lot out of frustration.

Self-regulation

Babies need time to learn new skills. You must be patient,consistent and provide loving  care and guidiance durning  this process. Positive discipline allows enough time for children to learn positive social skills. Young children flourish in a worm,caring enviornment where their needs are met. When you respond to your infants needs you are not spoiling her you are teaching her that the world is a good place.The aim is to build the child's inner control and this is referred to as self-regulation,to develop the child in a long habit of govering her own behavior.
You are your child's mirror of the world.

Preparing your baby for school

Self control is need for school . You should teach your baby how to end an activity without crying. Bath time is a good time for this skill to be taught. At time my grandson does not want to end his bathe because babies love to play in the water. If I attempt ot take him out of the tub and he begins to cry I will let him stay for a while. I will also explain to him that he can stay for 10 more minutes and then we will say by to the tub. That has worked.  He has learned not to throw a tantrum when he  has to transition from an activity. If he is playing and he has to clean up  we will explain to him that in a few minuted we will need to clean up.
These skills are need for school. I have seem many children who cannot transition well. These skills must be taught during the infant/toddler years and as children grow they will become more competent in the ability to control themselves.

Preparing your baby for school

Your child's ability to sit and complete an activity
You need to purchase developmental toys for your infant/toddler. Toys that your baby can interact with toys that will keep your baby engaged for a while. Also provide interesting activities that will engage your baby for a while for example : give her a pot and two covers one that does not fit. You will observe that she will spend a few minutes problem  solving. Give her a small ball to play with.You can also give her an emply box. You will provide these items based on the age of your baby.These are just a few activities that  will keep your baby sitting and engaged. The ability for your baby to sit and complete an activity is needed when she gets to school however the roots of this skill   begins during the infant/toddler years. Remember that your baby is new to the world and these kills are learned over time with patience and repetition. Durning these critical years your baby's brain is experiencing the most growth and she learns very quickly.
When your baby gets to school and is not able to sit for a while to complete an activity it will be a challenge for her and the teacher.

Appreciating Diversity

Before your baby gets to kindergarten she should have learned to appreciate diversity. You can begin by doing a numver of activities with your infant/toddler. Here are a few ideas that you can build on:

• Provide your infant/toddler with a variety of books
• Take your infant on trips where she will interact with a variety of cultures
• Encourage her to try different foods
• Provide multicultural dolls/toys
• Get your infant cultural clothing for dress up
• Have play dates  that is diverse
• Check for free family events and take your baby

When your child get to kindergarten her class will be diverse and  she should feel comfortable interacting.

Listening skills

You should play children's music for your baby. There are differnt kids of music some are just for listening while some sre for learning and others have instructions. Durning the infant/toddler years you should introduce your infant/toddler to a varity of music but focus on children's music that have instructions. Your baby needs to learn how to listen and follow instructions both forn you and from a song.If your baby gets to school and is unavle to listen she will spend a lot of time taking time out or will be labeled as having ADD (attention deficit disorder). many of these labels can be avoided if you begin to tech your infant/toddler listening skills durin g the infant toddler years.

Social emotional school readiness

Once you get your baby home you need to begin to get her ready for schools by giving her the social and emotional school readiness skills that will help her to succeed in life and school.
During these critical years many of our boys are not given the social and emotional readiness that is needed for school:

1. Skill: Understands the difference between right and wrong and recognizes and respects authority figures.
Why It's Important: When your children get to kindergarten they will be in a bigger class plus the will not be able to get individual attention. Your child should be able to self regulate.

2.  Communication: Your infant/toddler  should be able to communicate his needs and feelings verbally in a socially appropriate manner and understands/shows empathy for his peers.
Why It's Important:  Kindergarten is where children begin to practice their ability to make friends, show empathy and work in a group and how to socially interact with others.

Children who continue to express anger and frustration by hitting, yelling and throwing objects will not only have a difficult time making their needs understood, but may socially isolate themselves as well. Knowing that there are more productive ways to express themselves and what they say and do affects other people plays a key role in making friends and being a part of the learning community.

 Independence:  Can play independently or in a small group without needing to be constantly supervised.
Why It's Important:  With twenty children in a class, all of whom learn in different ways and at different pace, it's not possible for a kindergarten teacher to supervise every individual child all at the same time.

As kindergarten progresses, group and independent work time is increased and children need to be able to work on their own without constant redirection. Not only does this prepare a child for future schooling, these are life skills that he will take to the work world.

Your infant/toddler should feel competent-he should feel that he can have an impact on the world

 Relatedness:  should be able to take turns, share, converse and play with other children without needing to be reminded and uses polite language.

Why It’s Important: Your infant/toddler will be able to engage with his peers and also understand his peers.

 

Self discipline: In kindergarten there will not be a toy or book for everyone. Your infant/toddler needs to learn how to share materials, toys and attention before he gets to kindergarten. He'll need to be able to do so in a socially acceptable way.

Why It’s Important: Your infant/toddler is building the foundation for interacting with others, this skill will be useful throughout his life. It also teaches him patience.

·         Just remember that mastering these skills is an ongoing process that is why you need to start during the infant toddler years.

Infants/Toddlers who experience positive relationships develop resilience and a positive sense of self (Ainsworth& Bell 1994: Arnold, Gove & Souse” Erickson, Korfmachher & Eggeland 1992)

·         They come to believe they are lovable and important and can have an effect on other people. Children with secure relationships know these children are better at self regulation(Shore 1997)

·         They are easier to settle down after they have been distressed.

·         Children with poor relationships are harder to teach because they get little pleasure from teachers warm encouraging words. (Hoing 2002a)

 Curiosity: your child should be able to think independent, explores new things should be willing to take risks.
Why It's Important: Going to kindergarten is a major transition for your infant/toddler. He may experience separation anxiety.  You should ask the school to arrange a trip to the kindergarten class this will allow for a smooth transition.

You need to work on giving your  infant/toddler these emotional skills both at home and in care. Counting and the ABCs will not prepare your infant/toddler for success in the world he needs social emotional skills and they must be given during the infant toddler years 0-3years.
Confidence-Your infant toddler should have a sense of control and mastery of her body,should feel that she will succeed at any task that she undertakes,and that adults will be helpful.
Why is this important-It is very important for your infant/toddler to have self confidence that will bill self esteem in your child. That is why you need to help her to be independent and self-reliant.
Listening skills are very important also.

You may think it’s too early to teach your infnat/toddler the various skills I laid out above, but your infant/toddler brain is always working even though they cannot speak. Repetition is key and you as the parent(s) are your  infant/toddlers first teacher AND a mirror of his world.  I recommend you read this book with your infant/toddler “You are My World” by Amy Hatkoff.

 

 

 

 

 

Resiliance

You are the mirror that your infant/toddler see the world through. Last week my  sister had a play date to attend. The tempreture was 19 degrees she decided not to attend" because she is afraid that her baby will get sick". I asked her if what is going to happen when the baby begins school and the tempreture is low what will she do?
This is a very bad idea. Your are giving your baby the wrong message plus robing her of valuable experiences.You need to dress your baby appropriate for the weather and be on your way. Your baby is being socialized you are teaching your baby that if the weather is very cold her daily activities should stop. Remember that the weather will always be there  you cannot  allow the weather stop you from your daily activities unless it is deemed  unsafe by the authories.Many parents  do not realize that they are sending an unspoken message to their child.The next time that that you have a playdate don't deny your infant/toddler that experience.

Patience is a virture--potty

Good day,

I hope you are having a wonderful week. What new and wonderful things is your infant/toddler doing?

The end of January I decided to get my son a potty, at 15 months old. I purchased it not to rush his potty training but to let him get used to the potty. I would have him sit on the potty with his clothes on and then I would remove his clothes and keep his pamper on.

Then one day he went by the bathroom (the door stays closed) and he banged on the door. I opened the door for him and he sat on his potty.

A few days ago when he woke up I took him immediately to sit on the potty, pulled off the pamper and he peed in the potty... yeah.

Patience is a virtue, there have been moments when I don't leave him on the potty long enough... But this particular day he sat long enough (which really wasn't too long) it's a process.

Just remember when the time comes to start potty training first introduce your baby to the potty so they get comfortable sitting on it.

Good luck

Ready for Kindergarten Ready for College

Laying the foundation for your infant and toddler is critical to their success in pre-kindergarten and beyond. One kindergarten teacher shared with us how she spends a great deal of her time working on cognitive and social skills, she feels her class is somewhat like a toddler class. You may be asking why? Well the reason is the parents did not know what to do with their infant/toddler before they got to school... developing their fine motor skills among the other skills that serve as the foundation.

Monday, February 4 was child advocacy day in Albany. Daseta and I went up there to lobby for the campaign Ready for Kindergarten Ready for College, part of the initiative put forward by Governor Cuomo during his State of the State address in which he spoke about setting aside $25 million dollars for full day pre-k. 

They realize that when you invest in children early in their life it helps our workforce later.

We also had an opportunity to speak with the Chair of the Children and Families Committee about the importance of investing in the infants and toddlers.

Yesterday helped to reinforce what Daseta and I are doing sharing with stakeholders the importance of investing in our infants and toddlers.

One speaker from Monday's event shared a little story about purchasing a house, he told the developer the color paint he wanted, color carpet, number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
  The developer tried to switch the conversation to how the basement will look, the client continued to change the subject back to the layout for the rest of the house.  The developer then turned to him and said, "If you don't have a solid foundation it doesn't matter how many bathrooms and bedrooms you have. The house will crumble".

Same applies for our infants/toddlers... if we don't build their foundation they will have challenges as they get older.

How are you building the foundation?  What type of cognitive and social activities are you doing with your little one?

Baby & Wee class Saturday Feb 9

 

This class will teach parents how to work with their infants and toddlers to develop the coginitive, social and emotional skills before they start school. We will also give them tips on activities they can do at home with their baby. This will not be your ordinary parenting class. We answer the "why" these activities are being done, which component also known as domain of the brain is being developed.

Do you wonder why some children require occupational or speech therapy when they arrive at school? It is because their fine motor and speech were not developed prior to starting school. These are just a few things we assist with during the various classes.

The first session is FREE

When: Saturday, February 9, 2013

10:00am - 11:00am

Where: 2401 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd (corner of West 140 St) NY, NY 10030

We look forward to seeing you there

 

Before your baby gets to kindergarten

Your baby will need to be self confident when she gets to kindergarten. This social emotional skill is developed ove time. You need to begin this process the minute your baby gets home.You need to have the baby do things for her self when she iniciates the activity. When your baby begind to hold on to her bottle encourage her.  When she is trying to sit up  encourage her. You are responsible for helping your baby through the developmental stages.

Baby and wee class Friday Feb 1st

The focus was on the Physical Domain/Fine Moter Skills

Today  we  facilitate our baby and wee class. It went well .  Many young children do not like to feel sticky stuff on their hands. You must remember that every thing is new to your baby. You should encourage her to try new  things and she must be given several experiences with materials before she will get comfortable with it. You should not say "she does not like paint on her hands". Baby and wee classes are designed to help caregivers  encourage infants/toddlers to try new things with friends.Today some children painted using a brush and one of the care givers did not allow the child to dip the brush in the paint by himself she did it for him. I did point out to her that self-esteem is very  important and being able to do for self .It is responsibility to mirror the world for infants/toddler.
The class was fun. We painted,made a game,sing songs,listened to music,read  EYES and played with developmental toys. We will have another class on Saturday this will allow the parents to attend.
We want to thank all the caregivers who attended.

Potty training

Ajani sat on his potty today on his own. He had his clothes on.He pushed the handle.

Independence

My grand son is now 16mos and he is able to  drink from a regular cup . He also takes brakes and says haaaa. It is amazing to see the confidence that he has. he feels that he can make things happen. Self-esteem is one of the socail emotional school readiness skills that your infant/toddler needs to have before she gets to school. The roots must be planted the minute that you bring your baby home.