Social -emotional Development - Self-Efficacy

 Self-efficacy is  learning how to persevere  at a task until you  succeed.
Here is a good example : Your toddler is trying to find the ball because it rolled under  the table and a chair is blocking his way. He problem solve by moving the chair out of the way and now his path is clear and he is able to get the ball. You should praise her for the good job that she did by being able to get the ball.
These small  acts form the root for the development of self-efficacy skills that will be needed later on. In order for your infant/toddler to develop these skills you must provide the opportunity. This means allowing your toddler to use her brains to figure it out. If the task becomes frustrating for  your toddler and she begins to cry. You can say to her "you don't need to cry do you need  help" she may not respond then you will say " John let us do it together". Over time he will learn that frustration is natural and there is an adult there that is in tune with him and will offer help when he needs it. Your goal is to have your toddler understand when to ask for help but he must try to do things first. After a few weeks he will begin to associate the word help with the action help.

Brain development is a process and you must be patient while you are building a brain.