Social and Emotional Development in the Early Years of Childhood

Resilience in Childhood is a very interesting read from the Grow & Thrive program developed The Centre of Community Child Health. In this article on resilience, highlights are made to the importance of developing relationships and the value of this in relation to why and how we as early childhood professionals and / or parents can contribute to fostering resilience in our young children.  As also discussed and identified in the Care for Kids article Developing resilience in early years (and linked directly to the EYLF and the core elements of Being, Belonging and Becoming), resilience in early childhood is all about fostering for children:

• sense of self – knowing who they are
• self-esteem – feeling good about who they are
• optimism – feeling hopeful that they can make it through challenges
• problem solving skills – being able to persevere through mistakes and difficulties to find a solution
• decision-making skills – having the confidence to choose a path to a solution
• realistic sense of personal control – feeling that they can make a meaningful impact in their world. 

Programs such as Relax Kids can certainly promote and aid in this vital social emotional development.  Please contact Sara Stockman in the Wagga CareWest office to learn more about Relax Kids and to arrange a coaching session.  The Circle of Security program is invaluable to developing a program rich in resilience building and you can contact Kim Gray in the Orange CareWest office for more details around this.  Both programs are detailed in archived blog articles herein.
Other links to such programs as KidsMatter and Raising Children Network are worth exploring and promoting in your family networks.  With the emphasis on enhancing childhood learning, health and development in the early years (0-8), the Grow & Thrive newsletter is also worth joining.
 The Grow & Thrive program are also providing a free webinar in relation to healthy weight and sleeping for early childhood years on 5th December (see our Training & Learning tab).