Developmental Articles: Infant/Toddler

"Social-Emotional Development: Birth to 12 Months and 12 to 24 Months." Zero To Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. Copyright 2010 Retrieved on January 21, 2012 from http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/social-emotional-development/social-emotional-development.html

Social-Emotional Development in infants and toddlers is an important stage of development because "loving relationships give young children a sense of comfort, safety, confidence, and encouragement." (Zero To Three) Learning these skills early on can determine how well children will develop socially and adjust to changes. These articles discuss how parents and caregivers should nurture and support infants and toddlers to promote strong social-emotional development "starting from birth, babies are learning who they are by how they are treated."(Zero To Three) These articles discuss in details things that parents and caregivers should do from providing babies with responsive care, supporting babies developing skills, encouraging infants and toddlers' developmental milestones, and being affectionate and nurturing. These articles also provide tips to parents on ways to make infants and toddlers feel safe and secure.

"You help your baby feel safe and secure when you respond to her cries and other communications – for example, picking your baby up when she lifts her arms in the air as if to say, "Up!" Babies also feel secure when they get lots of affection from you when their days are predictable. It is the love and trust you share that helps your child learn that you will always be there for her. This trust gives her confidence." (Zero To Three)

As a parent and future teacher I feel that this article would be helpful to parents because it provides parents with ways to help their infants and toddlers adjust to the social-emotional development stage. As infants and toddlers continue to grow and develop they will interact with caregivers and other children. They will experience emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, and fear. How they are nurtured and supported will play a major role in how they self regulate in a challenging situation. Many parents and caregivers can benefit from reading these articles as it will help them understand the cues that their infants and toddlers will give them. Infants and toddlers often communicate through their actions and emotions and these articles provide good information on what parents should look for as their children use their social and emotional skills as a way to communicate.