Ways to Support Social-Emotional Learning in Preschoolers

Have you ever heard of developing your child’s social and emotional skill? Do you think it is essential to develop this in your little kids? Well here is what you need to know. Social-emotional learning is basically recognizing our emotions, having some control over them, having empathy for others, handling conflict well, and making good choices about personal and social behavior. These skills are critical to every child’s success, be it in school or in life.

Believe it or not, these things need to be taught and the best time to begin is early! Right when they are preschool and kindergarten! And who is a better teacher to your child than YOU? Here are some specific steps you can take to nurture an emotionally intelligent child, and additional resources you can use to learn more about social and emotional learning.

Create an Affectionate-Friendly Environment:

Children love to feel like they are the most special and important, so make sure you provide them with love and affection. Don’t always let your child be independent. Holding your children makes them feel safe and contained. Comforting, singing, and talking to your children also provide an important emotional holding environment. It promotes a feeling of safety and security within your young child. As children receive love and affection from their elders, parents and relatives, they are also silently learning important aspects of how they can express their love and affection to others.

Encourage and Respect Differences:

Every child has a certain belief, values, and traditions. These are often largely influenced by the culture of the family and their larger community. It influences every aspect of parenting: feeding, sleeping, and toileting routines; discipline; communication and more. When you display an appreciation and respect for your own culture as well as the cultures of others, you are teaching your child acceptance of differences and lets them appreciate what is unique in another.

Understand Each Child is Unique:

Not all children are good at everything. Every child has his or her own unique talents and abilities. Whether in academics, athletics, extra-curricular activities or arts and crafts, resist the urge to compare your child to friends or siblings. This will lower their self-esteem. Instead, honor your child's accomplishments and provide support and encouragement and in the meantime also encourage them to concentrate on what they may be falling back on.

Encourage the Expression of Feelings:

Children are not sure how exactly to express their emotions. They may also express it without thought. Teachers and parents can encourage a child’s emotional expressions by responding constructively to them. Punishing or dismissing a child’s emotions does not give the child the opportunity to learn how to respond constructively to those emotions. Respond to a child’s emotions by validating her feelings. For example, ask your child, “What’s wrong?”  rather than saying, “Stop crying.”

Provide Support Occasionally:

You can support your child’s social and emotional skills through scaffolding. It’s built upon what children already know, such as the names of basic emotions, so that they can learn new skills, like how to identify when a playmate is sad or happy. You can guide a child to notice the feelings of another and also suggest possible solutions. For example, “Rose is crying, maybe she feels sad that no one is playing with her, why don’t you go and share your toys with her. I’m pretty sure she will be happy.”

Nurture Your Own Social and Emotional Wellness:

This is the most important aspect. To provide the best for your children, you must first attend to your own needs. You need to ensure that you are nurturing and respecting yourself. Parenting is rewarding, yet so demanding. So before you are about to react a particular way towards your child make sure that you are doing it right and in a calm manner. Children are observing and absorbing lessons about emotions throughout the day, even when those lessons are unintentional. So make sure you are doing it all right yourself.

Written by Fathima Khaja