Understanding Personal, Social and Emotional Development in the Early Years

Childminding UK: Understanding Personal, Social and Emotional Development in the Early Years

Introduction

So, what does the term, Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) actually mean? In the Early years it refers to the process through which young children acquire skills to understand themselves and others, manage their emotions, build relationships and develop social skills. This aspect of development is crucial as it lays the foundation for future well-being, learning and social interactions. PSED is typically broken down into three components: 

Personal Development

• Self-Awareness: Children begin to recognise their own emotions, interests, strengths, and limitations. They start to develop a sense of identity and self-worth.

• Self-regulation: This includes learning to manage their own emotions and behaviors. Children learn to cope with frustration, control impulses, and understand the consequences of their actions.

• Independence: Developing the ability to make choices and decisions, taking responsibility for personal care tasks (like dressing, eating), and growing confidence in their abilities.

Social Development

• Relationships: Building and maintaining healthy relationships with peers and adults. This includes learning to share, take turns, cooperate, and resolve conflicts.

• Social Skills: Developing communication skills, understanding social cues, and learning appropriate ways to interact in different social contexts.

• Empathy: Understanding and responding to the feelings of others, which helps in forming positive relationships and fostering a sense of community.

Emotional Development

• Emotional Expression: Learning to express a range of emotions in socially acceptable ways. Children learn to identify and label their feelings.

• Emotional understanding: Recognising and understanding the emotions of others. This is closely linked with developing empathy.

• Emotional resilience: Developing the ability to cope with challenges, setbacks, and new situations. This includes learning strategies for managing stress and recovering from difficulties.

The importance of PSED

The EYFS tells us that “PSED is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives”. It is classed as one of the prime areas of learning and underpins all other areas of learning within the framework. Children with strong PSED skills are more likely to:

• Form secure relationships with adults and peers.

• Perform better academically due to their ability to focus, follow directions, and work cooperatively.

• Have better mental health and well-being, as they can manage stress and express their needs appropriately.

• Develop a positive sense of self, which contributes to resilience and the ability to face challenges.

How can we support PSED in the Early Years

Children need a safe environment to help them feel secure and valued. This helps children develop trust in their caregivers and surroundings. This sense of security is essential for forming healthy attachments and relationships. When children feel secure, they are more likely to explore their environment, try new things, and engage in learning activities without fear. In a safe environment, children can better manage their emotions because they know they are in a supportive and predictable setting. Feeling secure helps children develop resilience, allowing them to cope with stress and bounce back from challenges more effectively.

Adults should model positive behavior around children because children learn by observing and imitating the actions, attitudes, and behaviors of those around them, particularly trusted adults. This process, known as ‘observational learning’ or ‘social learning’, and is crucial during the early years when children are developing foundational skills and understanding of the world. There are many reasons why modeling positive behavior is essential: 

• Setting Standards: Children learn what is considered appropriate or inappropriate behavior by watching adults. When adults model positive behavior, such as kindness, respect, and honesty, children are likely to adopt these values.

• Understanding Expectations: Positive role modeling helps children understand the norms within society and expectations, which are critical for successful social interactions and integration into various social settings.

• Managing Emotions: Children learn how to handle their emotions by observing adults. When adults model calmness and effective coping strategies in stressful situations, children learn to regulate their own emotions similarly.

• Empathy and Compassion: By observing compassionate and empathetic behavior, children learn to understand and respond to the feelings of others, fostering their emotional intelligence and empathy.

• Communication Skills: Adults who demonstrate good communication skills, such as active listening, respectful speaking, and conflict resolution, provide a draft for children to develop their own communication abilities.

• Cooperation and Teamwork: Positive behaviors like sharing, taking turns, and cooperating with others are learned through observation. When adults exhibit these behaviors, children are more likely to copy them in their interactions with peers.

• Curiosity and Enthusiasm: Adults who show curiosity and enthusiasm for learning and new experiences encourage children to adopt a similar attitude. This can foster a love for learning and an open-minded approach to exploring new ideas.

• Resilience and Perseverance: Demonstrating perseverance and a positive attitude in the face of challenges teaches children the importance of resilience and hard work, which are essential for academic and personal success.

• Conflict Resolution: By modeling constructive ways to handle disagreements and conflicts, adults teach children effective strategies for resolving issues peacefully and respectfully.

Children should be provided with opportunities for social interaction. These should include structured and unstructured play. Children need the opportunity to practice their social skills with their peers. This is important to help them form and maintain relationships and will help them to learn co-operation and how to resolve conflicts. They will learn to express themselves and manage their thoughts and feelings effectively and starts to make them aware of verbal and non-verbal communication. Children also learn the importance of listening to others, understanding different perspectives and responding appropriately.

Allowing children independence encourages children to make choices and supports them in choices in daily activities to give them a sense of control. For example, let them select a snack from a couple of healthy options. Encourage decision-making by involving children in planning activities, such as selecting a story to read or a game to play. Allow children to try tasks on their own before stepping in to help. Encourage them to figure out solutions to minor problems, offering guidance only when necessary. Praise their efforts and persistence, even if they don’t succeed right away. This helps build resilience and a growth mindset.

Offering consistent  routines provides a sense of stability and helps children feel secure. Consistent routines provide a sense of predictability, stability, and control, which are crucial for young children as they navigate their world.  Routines allow children to know what to expect next. This reduces uncertainty and anxiety, as children can anticipate and prepare for upcoming activities. Consistent routines set clear boundaries and expectations, helping children understand what behaviours are appropriate at different times and in various settings. When children understand the sequence of their day, it minimizes stress and helps them feel more at ease, knowing they can handle what’s ahead.

Conclusion

Overall, personal, social, and emotional development in the early years is about helping children build a strong foundation for future success and well-being by developing self-awareness, emotional regulation, social skills, and healthy relationships. In our next month’s blog we will be focusing on Self and Co-regulation which are an important aspect of the Early Learning Goals at the end of the Foundation Stage Curriculum.

Childminding UK has been supporting practitioners for over 30 years. Formed in 1991 by and for local working practitioners in Northamptonshire, we now support practitioners across the country. A registered charity, we are the only national organisation that solely supports practitioners and the only early years organisation that has achieved the Princess Royal Training Award for ‘Ensuring high quality childcare through training and support’. All staff are experienced childcare professionals, and have been practitioners themselves and our trustees are working practitioners or have knowledge of childminding, so we have a good understanding of the sector. 

Please note, the information in this article is provided by Childminding UK and does not represent the views or opinions of Morton Michel.