Social-Emotional Development In A Child Of 4Yrs Old Essays - Film

Social-Emotional Development In A Child Of 4Yrs Old Chapter 2- Social - Emotional Development The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation. ~Ray L. Wilbur~ The typical four year old has a very good sense of humor. They love being silly and love to tell jokes that make others laugh. While observing Michael and the class having breakfast in the cafeteria, Michael and two of his friends were telling jokes. Boy 1: Knock! Knock! Michael: Who's there? Boy 1: Knock! Knock! Boy 2: He said who's there? Boy 1: Pizza. Michael: Pizza? Boy 1: Yeah I said pizza. Michael: Pizza who? Boy 1: Hmmm (pauses for a moment) I forgot. Boy 1, Boy 2, and Michael begin to laugh hysterically at one another. They are laughing so hard that other children around them begin to laugh as well. There are many different meanings for the term social development, but the one thing that is for sure is that it is a long and ongoing process This process begins in early childhood with self discovery and results in the ability to interact with others. During the social - emotional development of a four year old child, they are still continuing to learn about themselves. Their sense of identity includes knowledge that they are a boy or girl (gender) and a member of a particular family, racial, religious or ethnic group (Mitchell and David, 1992). However, their sense of self is unstable. Preschooler's are aware of how people feel about them. They want to please adults in their lives and look for approval and praise. Preschooler's are also developing new social skills. Friendships often have a momentary quality, although some friendships may be quite stable, especially if children have known each other for a long time (Pica, 1997). Play and social development go hand and hand. Play offers many opportunities to be with other children and to share, take turns, disagree, and compromise (Mitchell and Davis, 1992). Children enjoy each others company. While at play, they are increasing their self awareness, and are becoming more involved in cooperative play. Emotionally, children develop greater self awareness, characteristics, and actions. They are also able to predict the emotions of others. According to Huffnung (1997) children will develop empathy or the ability to appreciate the feeling of others and understand their point of view. If one child begins an activity, it is likely that his friends will want to follow along. Michael was sitting at the table in the cafeteria eating breakfast and he kept dropping his napkin on the floor because he knew that the college student would pick it up for him. Two other boys that were sitting with him saw what was going on and they started to drop their napkin on the floor also. This continued for a few moments until the college student yelled at the boys. She then began to ignore their behavior and eventually they stopped. Michael likes to play in a group with his friends. Michael, another boy and a college student were playing in the block area. They had a handful of different bugs and the college student suggested that they build a house for the bugs to live in. Michael and the boy went to get long blocks to start building the house. Michael: We need long blocks to build the house. Boy: Ok I will get them. Michael: Hey look! This can be a sliding door. Boy: We need to take the bugs out. Michael: Go over there and get those long ones so we can put them on top. A girl runs over from the snack table and sits down next to Michael. She grabs a bug and pretends to make it hop from one level to the next. Michael: Hey! What are you doing? Stop that we're not done here! Boy: Yeah you cant do that. We need to build a house for the bugs to live in. Girl: Can I build with you? Michael: No! Girls can't build houses for bugs. No! College Student: Just because she is a girl Michael doesn't mean she can't play with you and help you make a house. Girl: Well he's not my friend anymore. Michael and his friend continue to build the house and do not pay attention to what the college student had said. The girl however did not get upset and she started building a house in a different area. Where she was building her house, Michael had an idea to build a road for the bugs to hop across. The road that they built connected the two houses together so that everyone could play. When