Socio-emotional Development

The important dimensions of children's socio-emotional development during childhood are the development of the self, of gender, and of morality. During the early years of childhood, some important developments in the self take place — through socialisation, the child develops a sense of who they are and whom they want to be identified with, and a growing sense of independence leads children to want to do things in their own way. According to Erikson, the way parents respond to a young child's self-initiated activities shapes whether the child develops a sense of initiative or a sense of guilt — giving children freedom and opportunities for play (cycling, running, skating, and so on) and taking their questions seriously builds a sense of support for their own initiative; in contrast, if children are made to feel that their questions are useless and the games they play are silly, they are likely to develop feelings of guilt about their own self-initiated activities, feelings that can persist well into later life. Self-understanding in early childhood tends to be limited to physical characteristics — 'I am tall,' 'she has black hair,' 'I am a girl.' During middle and late childhood, however, a child's self-understanding shifts to include internal, psychological characteristics — 'I am smart and I am popular,' or 'I feel proud when teachers give me responsibility in school.' Alongside psychological characteristics, children's self-descriptions during this period also come to include social aspects of the self, such as references to social groups the child belongs to — being a member of a school's music club, environment club, or a religious group. Children's self-understanding also increasingly includes social comparison — thinking about what they can or cannot do relative to others, for example, 'I got more marks than Atul,' or 'I can run faster than others in the class.' This shift helps children establish their own individual differences from other people. Once children enter school, their social world also expands well beyond their families, and they begin spending considerably more time with peers or age-mates — this increased time with peers itself becomes an important shaping influence on a child's ongoing development. …