Social and emotional development is essential to children’s growth. Help your child succeed by guiding them in the following areas:
- Relationships with others:
Social interactions and relationships with other people begin early in life. Children need to develop an awareness of other people and over time they learn that others have feelings. Playing and interacting with adults and children helps this skill develop. As children learn more they will want to play with their peers.
- Learning about self (self-perception):
As children develop a sense of self they begin to understand who they are, what they can do, and how they contribute to their family, friends and eventually larger community. They learn their strengths and weaknesses and develop beliefs about their competence in specific areas.
- Expression of feelings:
Children will learn about emotions and feelings and how to appropriately express themselves. The ability to communicate emotions and feelings to others will help them develop positive relationships with others.
- Self-regulation:
Making good choices and being able to control one’s behaviors are not easy. This has to be learned and takes time. Adults can help children by providing expectations and helping children calm down when they become overly excited.
Learning around the House
Early education is important but how children learn is as important as what they learn. Children should be active and interact with toys and their environment. Sitting passively watching TV is not the most effective means to learn new information. It must be real for children to truly understand. Children learn through their senses, they need to see, touch, hear, taste and smell to really understand and create their own meaning. Learn more…
Storytelling
Storytelling is a fantastic way to share with your child, memories about your childhood, and talk about special family moments together. Stories are ways to keep your culture alive! Talk about your family traditions and how these experiences affect who we are. Learn more…
Things to Do
There are many things you can do with your child to help him or her learn to relate with others, express their feelings, and understand who they are. Learn more…
Parent Resource Collection at the Library
Available in all Virginia Beach Public Libraries, the Parent Resource Collection is a special group of materials on parenting and childcare for families, childcare providers, and early childhood educators. Library staff can assist you in locating information on a board variety of topics within the collection from pregnancy through adolescents. You will find books on nutrition, raising healthy children, toilet learning, exercise, sleeping, activities and games to play, literacy, discipline, bullying and more. Located within one easy to find place in the library, the collection will provide answers to the many questions we all have about raising children and helping them develop to be the best person they can be in life.