I was recently exploring the ZERO TO THREE website for resources on infant and toddler development and the latest research that is being done to support the work done in that age group. Social and emotional development is of great interest to me since, in my opinion, it is lays the foundation for successful, healthy children and adults. Under the "Behavior and Development" tab there is a section on Early Childhood Mental Health. On that page there is a video clip of an experiment done to show the effects of a responsive caregiver and a non-responsive caregiver. The reaction of the child is fascinating and it truly shows how important our reactions to children are. The research and work done in the area of mental health has direct implications on our field. We all know that the demand for quality early childhood programs is increasing and with the information that is provided by this kind of research, we can begin to understand our role in training and sharing the knowledge with those in the field that are interacting daily with young children.
Here are more details about the video I referenced:
"The Still Face paradigm, designed by Edward Tronick, is an experimental procedure for studying infant social and emotional development. During the experiment, an infant and a parent interact playfully before the parent suddenly stops responding and looks away. After a short period, the parent reengages with the infant. The infant’s reaction to a suddenly unresponsive parent and his or her behavior when the parent resumes interaction, have been used to study many aspects of early social and emotional development."
"This video clip is excerpted from ZERO TO THREE's
Helping Babies From the Bench: Using the Science of Early Childhood Development in Court."
References:
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/early-childhood-mental-health/
Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI would strongly agree that a child's social and emotional development or lack of development in these areas plays the biggest role in how they learn, grow and flourish in their education. I am a strong believer in children developing secure attachments and relationships with caregivers, teachers, etc at a young age because it has a large impact on how a child learns.
Katherine
ReplyDeleteThe study you referenced reminds me of the "social referencing" term we learned in EDUC 6160 Early Childhood Development. When I conducted observations for that class, I was so fascinated by how much young toddlers gazed into the faces of their caregivers to understand spoken and unspoken language. Social referencing also helps establish shared meaning and the mutual agreement of cultural symbols.