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Social-Emotional Development of the preschooler

Chapter 17

Page 404

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Developing Social Awareness

• Social awareness grows during preschool years

• Becoming more dependable and can complete simple tasks at home

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Taking the Initiative• More independent

• Improved abilities

• Limitless energy

• Never ending curiosity

• Talk a lot and loudly

• Initiative = ability to think or act without being urged

• Guilt = blaming self for something done wrong

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• Children develop initiative when they are allowed to ask questions

• Experiment

• Explore

• Adults do need to step in and set limits

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Showing Responsibility

• Takes time and calls for experience

• Adults can help by:

• Become responsible by setting examples

• Give children chances to learn

• Follow through with praise or other reward for success

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Learning Gender Roles

• Important part of social awareness

• Learn how to fit into certain social groups

• Gender-role learning is learning what behavior is expected of males and females

• Children (age 3yrs) know there is a difference between boys and girls

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How Does Gender Role Develop?• Learn roles by how others treat them • How they see other in their male and female

roles• Sex typing – treating boys and girls differently

– Difference in clothing worn– Toys received– Ways parents react to boys and girls

– Other families don’t distinguish a difference

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Cultural Factors

• Society’s view of male and female roles is not as clearly defined

• Traditional gender roles:

• Male more aggressive, economic head of family

• Female as wife and mother who stays home

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• Sexual stereotyping – statement or hint that men and women always do or should do certain tasks

• Found in books, TV shows, some conversations

• Different cultures/groups hold different beliefs about gender roles

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Extending Social Relations

• Increase social learning by:

• Sharing, controlling anger, thinking of other’s feelings, and joint efforts

• Adults still important– Serve as role models– Self-control, manners, model relationships,

etc

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Other Children Become More Important

• Siblings and peers are more important

• Peers – unrelated children who are near the same age

• Have fun playing with other child, while others do not

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Making Friends• Depends on child’s friendliness• Ability to follow group rules• Lack of dependence on adults• Prefers friend of same gender

• May be self-centered view on friendship• Friends play with, help you and share• 2 -3 form a closed circle• Too many friends may not get enough attention

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Learning from Play Groups

• Get new ideas

• Play with more than one child

• Become less self-centered in peer groups

• Children learn that friends are fun

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Feeling and Controlling Emotions

• Still react to common childlike stressors

• Stressors = situations that cause stresses

– Short separations from adults– Fear of monsters

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Dependency

• Emotional dependency = the act of seeking attention, approval, comfort, and contact

• Preschoolers are more likely to accept comfort from strangers

• May ask an adult to button their coat, etc

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Fear & Anxiety

• New fear and anxieties replace previous ones

• Boys have a greater variety of fears

• Girls have fewer fears but more intense

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Fears Common Features

• Fear of the known– Vacuum cleaner– Fears of physical injury

• Death by fire, auto, accident– Fear of pain– Medical or dental

• Anxiety of general nature– Tornado, thunderstorm

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Anger and Aggression

• Begin at 10 months

• Hit and bite less but threaten and yell more

• Increased language skills help

• Anger and aggression towards siblings and peers more than adults

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Causes of Anger and Aggression

• Children often use aggression to get their way

• Or intentional hurt someone

• Get to the bottom of it

• Get help if needed

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Jealousy

• Begins when people realize they must share with others love, attention, possessions and time

• Most common time for jealousy is when a new brother or sister is born

• Babies take time, they translate this as love

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• Repressed jealousy = jealousy that is not directly expressed and may even be denied

• Show this through nightmares or physical problems such as upset stomach, headaches, fevers and a change in appetite