CHCFC301A: Support the development of
children
Support the emotional and psychological
development of children of the same age
Contents
Theories of emotional and psychological development
3
Some key theorists
3
Stages of development of self-awareness, self-concept and selfesteem
Developing a sense of self
9
Emotional development in infancy
9
Emotional development in toddlers
12
Emotional development in preschoolers
15
Emotional development in school-aged children
20
Involve children in decision-making where circumstances safely
allow
30
Autonomy or independence
30
Helping toddlers make decisions
31
Acknowledge, encourage and appreciate children’s efforts and
identify and celebrate children’s social, emotional and
psychological successes
33
Self-esteem
33
How can we support the development of self-concept and selfesteem?
33
Give individual attention to each child
2
8
35
Temperament
35
Respond to children’s feelings openly and with respect
36
Recognise issues of concern related to child’s participation in
experiences, for emotional and psychological development
37
Conduct and record, in line with work role, observations of
children’s behaviour or other expressions that may indicate social,
emotional or psychological concerns
37
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Theories of emotional and
psychological development
Let’s now look at three of the theorists specifically associated with emotional and
psychological development.
Before we start, here are a couple of useful definitions:
•
•
•
Self-concept relates to the picture we have of ourselves in terms of our
abilities and qualities.
Self-esteem relates to how we feel others see us in terms of our abilities
and qualities.
Self-awareness is the understanding of who we are as an individual.
Some key theorists
Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
Erikson emphasised social influences on the developing self-concept and
personality. His theory is called a psychosocial theory of development.
Erikson identified eight stages of development over the entire human lifespan,
not just childhood and adolescence. Each stage was marked by a crisis. If that
crisis was resolved with a positive outcome, the individual would develop high
self-esteem, would be more likely to deal with the next crisis in a positive way and
would develop a healthy personality. If the crisis was resolved with a negative
outcome, the individual was likely to develop low self-esteem and it would be
more difficult to resolve the next crisis in a positive way.
How does Erikson’s theory apply to the care of children?
If we understand the crisis of each stage of Erikson’s theory, we can help children
resolve these conflicts in a positive way. For instance, if we meet babies’ needs in
a consistent and prompt way, we can help them develop a sense of trust.
If we provide achievable tasks, encourage self-help skills and allow toddlers plenty
of time to do things for themselves, we can help them develop a sense of
autonomy.
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When working with preschoolers, we can encourage them to plan their own play
by providing environments that foster pretend play.
Erik Erikson’s eight stages of development and the crises that mark each stage
Stage
Crisis
Age
Description
1
Trust v
mistrust
Infancy:
If infants’ needs are met promptly and
consistently, they will develop a sense of trust;
however, when this doesn’t happen they will
not be able to trust others.
Autonomy v
shame and
doubt
Toddlerhood:
Initiative v
guilt
Preschool:
2
3
0–18 months
13 years
35 years
If toddlers are encouraged to start to do things
for themselves, they will develop autonomy,
but if things are done for them or they are
punished they will develop feelings of shame
and doubt.
As children’s skills increase, they can plan and
carry out actions.
If this is supported, they will develop initiative;
however, if they are punished, they will
develop a sense of guilt.
4
Industry v
inferiority
Middle childhood:
5–12 years
During middle childhood, children start to learn
the skills of their culture.
If they experience positive feedback and
success, they will develop a sense of industry;
if they experience failure, they will develop a
sense of inferiority.
5
Identity v role
confusion
Adolescence:
12–19 years
Adolescents start to answer the questions
‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where do I fit?’. They start to
make decisions about their future.
When this doesn’t happen, they become
confused about their role and future.
6
7
Intimacy v
isolation
Young adulthood:
Generativity v
stagnation
Middle adulthood:
1940 years
4065 years
Individuals now work at ways to establish
intimate ties with others. When this is not
successful, they will feel isolated and alone.
The focus for this stage is to provide for the
next generation, so adults are busy child
rearing, engaging in meaningful work and
contributing to the community.
When this doesn’t happen, there will be a lack
of meaningful accomplishment.
8
4
Integrity v
despair
Late adulthood: 65+
years
Individuals now reflect on their life. If they feel
satisfied, they will develop a sense of integrity;
if they feel disappointed, they will experience
despair.
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Development of autonomy and independence
It is essential that children develop autonomy and independence in order to
function in the world, make appropriate decisions and solve the problems and
challenges that will face them on a daily basis. We will examine Erikson’s stages in
more depth. Erikson’s work is very closely linked to children developing control of
their lives and gradual independence.
•
•
•
•
trust versus mistrust: 0–18 months
autonomy versus shame and doubt: 18 months–3 years
initiative versus guilt: 3–5 years
industry versus inferiority: 5–12 years
Trust versus mistrust
Infancy correlates with Erikson’s first stage: trust versus mistrust. In this stage the
infant is beginning to interact and engage with the people they come into contact
with to deal with the first crisis identified by Erikson. This crisis is to determine
whether the infant should trust the world and the people in it or mistrust the
world and its people. Trust or mistrust in the world will be determined by the type
of care the infant is receiving from the adults. Trust, like attachment, is built
through our basic caregiving strategies. Feeding a hungry baby, cuddling and
soothing a fearful baby and allowing the tired child to sleep helps build trust.
Autonomy versus shame and doubt
In toddlerhood, the child is now moving to a new stage in their development.
Erikson describes a new crisis that must be dealt with. Again, the real usefulness
of this theory is in the information it gives us about the appropriate caregiving
strategies that we need to employ to help each child reach their full potential.
In this toddler stage, Erikson describes the crisis as being one of autonomy versus
shame and doubt. During this stage the toddler will learn that they are an
autonomous, independent person who has control in their world or they will learn
that making independent decisions is something to be ashamed of. This is often a
challenging stage for many adults. Our first word is often ‘NO’. Being told ‘no’ all
the time leads to feelings of shame and doubt. We need to ensure that we give
toddlers the opportunity to make limited decisions. We will discuss decision
making in more detail later.
Initiative versus guilt
Now that the child is a preschooler, a new crisis is emerging. Erikson now tells us
that the child is moving into the initiative-versus-guilt stage. In this stage the child
will either gain a sense of initiative by being able to make decisions, plan activities
and events and see them carried through, or a feeling of guilt as they are
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5
continually told ‘no’ or have their ideas squashed. Caregivers need to ensure they
are allowing the children in their care the opportunities to make plans and see
them carried through to fruition.
Erikson stresses that a person’s personality emerges from the child’s interactions
and experiences with significant people. Much of this interaction occurs around all
the different skills that are developing during the preschool years.
During the preschool stage we find that children are ready and eager to learn and
achieve goals. They learn to plan and to carry out these plans. They are also
developing a sense of right and wrong. They see themselves as being able to do
more things but realise there are limits – if they go beyond these limits, they will
feel guilty. By four years the preschooler should be able to formulate a plan of
action and carry it out. The positive outcome is a sense of initiative – the sense
that one’s desires and actions are good and OK.
Industry versus inferiority
School-aged children between six and 12 years of age are beginning to settle
down to the serious business of learning to read and write as well as the many
other skills that are being developed at this stage. They are often in a routine
involving school and their peers. Erikson’s fourth stage, industry versus inferiority,
is usually being demonstrated at this time.
Erikson saw this stage as the time when children will begin to be industrious and
work towards their future careers and lives. They will learn the skills associated
with their society. Children who are reared in a positive, appropriate way will
navigate through this stage with positive outcomes. They will feel good about
themselves and their abilities. Children who are receiving negative messages from
the people around them will feel inferior to those around them and thus will
come through this stage with negative thoughts.
John Bowlby
Bowlby is a theorist who examined the attachment relationship between parents
and their children. He identified four phases in which attachment develops. He
believed that children are born with a variety of behaviours that encourage
parents and others to be near to them. These proximity-seeking behaviours
include laughing, gurgling and crying. Attachment of the child and parent develops
over a period of time and is mainly achieved by the routine caregiving tasks that
parents and children are involved in (Berk 1996).
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Mary Ainsworth
Ainsworth built upon Bowlby’s work in the 1970s. She developed an experiment
to test the quality of the attachment relationship between mothers and their
children. The 'Strange Situation' will determine whether the infant is securely
attached, insecurely attached or avoidant of the parent (Berk 1996).
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Stages of development of selfawareness, self-concept and selfesteem
Our aim as caregivers is to foster high self-esteem in the children we care for. The
journey towards high self-esteem begins with infants becoming self-aware.
Infants gradually become self-aware in the first 6–7 months of life. An experiment
by researchers has shown that full self-awareness occurs by 15 months. The
researchers placed a red spot onto the infant’s nose and put the infant in front of
a mirror. If the child took the red spot off their own nose, they were thought to be
self-aware. If they tried to take the spot off the child in the mirror’s nose, they
were not fully self-aware. (Vialle et al, 2000)
From self-awareness, self-concept grows. During the toddler years, children begin
to form understandings about themselves and their characteristics. They will form
understanding about gender, their abilities and other characteristics that make up
who they are. Self-concept statements generally are a statement of fact such as ‘I
am a boy’, ‘I have brown hair’ and so on.
Self-awareness
Self-esteem is the value we place on our attributes. This will begin to occur during
the toddler and preschool years. We will begin to hear preschoolers say such
things as ‘I’m a good runner’ and ‘I’m very clever’. Statements like this indicate
that a child has a positive self-esteem in these areas.
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Emotional development terminology
As with the study of any developmental area, there are a number of words that
are significant to the topic that you must be familiar with. Try the exercise below
dealing with emotional development terminology.
Activity 1
Developing a sense of self
What do we mean by the development of a ‘sense of self’? Can you remember a
time when you did not think of yourself as ‘you’, an individual? Somewhere in our
lifetime, we developed an understanding of who we are and what constitutes
‘me’ as a separate person from those around us. We understand that each of us is
a separate, individual person. This understanding of our separateness is called
self-awareness. Before we can gain any self-concept of ourselves or develop selfesteem, we must first develop self-awareness.
When babies are born, they do not have self-awareness. Initially, their actions are
merely reflexes to given stimuli. There is no recognition of themselves in a mirror,
nor do they recognise that their limbs are part of themselves.
Have you ever seen babies exploring their toes with their mouth and then
screaming when they suck too hard or bend their toe? We laugh, of course, but, at
this point, the infant has no perception of what is self and what is not.
If you place a red dot on a 14-month-old baby’s forehead and then place her in
front of a mirror, you will know if she has developed self-awareness by her
reaction. If she tries to remove the red dot from the mirror, you will know she has
not yet developed self-awareness. If she tries to remove it from her own
forehead, you know that self-awareness is developing. She now knows that it is
herself in the mirror—not just another interesting baby to watch.
Emotional development in infancy
During infancy, there are major developments in the social and emotional
domain. Remember that the social emotional domain involves the growth and
change of our feelings and interactions with others.
During this stage, infants will develop social and emotional skills that allow them
to express affection and annoyance when appropriate and to establish
relationships with others.
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9
Feelings and emotions
The neonate basically has two emotional states: content (not crying) and
discontent (different types of cries). Emotions become more complex with
maturation, experience and cognitive development.
By the time an infant is 18 months old, he or she is able to express a much greater
range of specific emotions or feelings in response to different situations.
Infants learn emotional responses from those around them. Read this scenario
and you’ll see what I mean.
Harry, aged nine months, is squealing with laughter every time his three-year-old
sister Jane pops her head around the couch and says ‘boo’.
His mother also starts to laugh and says to Harry, ‘Jane is being a funny girl, isn’t
she, Harry?’
Harry’s mother is reinforcing the happiness he is experiencing with his sister Jane.
He is learning that happiness is an important emotion. He is getting feedback from
his mother about this feeling.
By ten months of age, many infants are able to interpret the emotions of others.
For instance, if their carer seems happy and relaxed, it is more likely that the
infant will be happy and relaxed. On the other hand, if the carer seems stressed
and anxious, the infant will pick this up and respond by being irritable and hard to
settle.
The increasing complexity of the developing emotional responses of infants
10
Age
Emotional behaviour
5–6 weeks
Around this age, baby’s first social smile appears (a social smile is in
response to social interaction). (It’s a smile eagerly awaited by
parents.)
3–4 months
Babies will laugh in response to such stimulation as tickling.
About 6 months
Babies will laugh when someone makes a funny face.
8–12 months
Strong emotional tie with primary caregiver develops (ie feelings of
trust and security).
By 8–12 months
Babies will express distress and sadness when they are separated
from the carer(s) to whom they attached. The sadness may be
expressed through heartfelt sobbing or withdrawal or listless
behaviour (depending on the temperament of the child).
About 12
months
You can get a laugh from a baby by doing silly things like putting on a
silly hat.
By 13–15
months
The young child will express anger as a result of being frustrated or
prevented from doing something or having something.
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© NSW DET 2010
Does culture influence the expression of early
emotions?
Research has suggested that basic human emotions are universal. Feelings such as
fear, happiness and anger are part of human interactions with all cultural groups
and are expressed through similar facial expressions. However, what may vary
from culture to culture are the times and places when certain emotions are
expressed. For example, there are differences about when it is appropriate to
laugh or cry.
Children of Japanese and Chinese families are often taught to avoid outward
expressions of anger. African and African-American children are encouraged to
express feelings openly. Think about the expression to show ‘a stiff upper lip’ in
relation to the British upper class. Compare this to the outpouring of emotions by
Italians and Greeks.
As caregivers, we need to be mindful of the cultural backgrounds of children in
our care. We need to be sensitive to the appropriate cultural behaviours in
relation to supporting infants’ emotional development.
How can we support the development of selfawareness in infancy?
During the first 18 months of a child’s life, there are lots of things we can do to
support the development of self-awareness. However, the most important thing
we can do is encourage babies to explore their environment and ensure that we
respond to their signals consistently and sensitively.
As infants act on the environment, they will notice different effects. This may help
them identify themselves as separate from other people and objects. For
example, if they have the opportunity to bat a mobile, they will see it swing in a
pattern different from their own actions. This will tell the baby about the
relationship between the self and the physical world.
When they smile and vocalise at a carer and that carer smiles and vocalises back,
this will help give them information about the relationship between their self and
the social world.
Have you ever seen young babies looking at and playing with their hands?
Watching the movements of one’s own hands provides another kind of
feedback
t they are controlling. They learn that they can know and
control their own body more than other people
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Emotional development in toddlers
Toddlers tend to be emotionally fragile little people at times. One moment they
are chuckling as they move around their new and exciting world and the next
moment there can be tears and tantrums when they are confronted with
frustration or the unexpected.
Activity 2
Temper tantrums
I am sure that you have seen a toddler having a temper tantrum. Temper
tantrums are episodes of loud crying or screaming and may include the children
throwing themselves on the floor and kicking out. Some children in the throes of
a temper tantrum may lash out and hit those nearby. The first thing we need to
understand is that temper tantrums are part of expected behaviour for toddlers.
Tantrums can arise for many different reasons. Most, however, can be linked to
either frustration or fatigue. Often toddlers are frightened or overwhelmed by
their own emotions during tantrums, and need us to take control and comfort
them.
Earlier in this topic we learnt that toddlers’ developing gross and fine motor
skills allow them to do more things for themselves. However, they experience
frustration when their body doesn’t allow them to do what their mind wants them
to do. Because their language is still developing, they don’t always have the words
to express their desires, ideas or needs. This then leads them to experience
feelings of frustration. Their frustration is expressed with tears, stamping of their
feet, waving their arms and a loss of control.
Sometimes we can place unrealistic expectations upon toddlers. For example, we
expect them to share toys or food when they are not yet able to do this. At other
times, we may expect them to wait when they are not yet able to delay
gratification. Think of toddlers you have observed in the checkout queue at the
supermarket.
It’s late on a Friday afternoon. The father is looking tired and harassed and
the toddler is sitting in the seat of the supermarket trolley. The queue is
ten deep and there is a large display of sweets just near the cash register,
right at toddler eye level.
The toddler reaches out for one of the sweets. The father says ‘No’. The
toddler is stuck in the seat of the trolley where she has been sitting for
over an hour while they shopped.
Initially, she glares at her father. She points to the sweets this time and
whinges, ‘My want that’. Her father shakes his head. The next thing, the
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© NSW DET 2010
toddler’s lip drops, her forehead creases, she arches her back and lets out
a loud scream, ‘My want it!’.
When the father repeats ‘No’, the toddler starts to throw her legs and
arms about and really yells and cries ever so loudly. By the look on his
face, the father’s patience is wearing thin. He sharply tells his toddler to
stop making such a fuss, only to find his two-year-old acting more out of
control and screaming even more loudly. It’s not a pretty sight, nor a
comfortable situation for either party!
The father heaves the toddler out of the trolley, leaves the groceries
behind him and stalks out of the supermarket.
We need to anticipate sources of frustration for toddlers. We need to ensure that
they receive adequate rest and sleep and are not restricted for extended periods
of time. We need to arrange outings when the toddler is well rested and ensure
we are home before they get overtired and hungry. It’s a good idea to take
restoring food and water with us when going out with toddlers and perhaps
something to play with.
Toddlers need a balance of active and quiet times during the day. Sensory and
messy play can be relaxing for toddlers. They need to hear words and stories that
will help them identify and express their feelings.
By allowing toddlers time to do things for themselves and ensuring that tasks are
achievable, we are reducing the chances of them losing control with an outburst
of temper.
Perhaps above all we need to avoid places that are not child-friendly shops and
supermarkets are not places where children can touch objects and freely explore,
so are high risk for tantrum throwing.
Aggression during toddlerhood
Physical aggression is not uncommon in the social interactions of toddlers.
Because they have limited language skills and are not yet able to control and
express their feelings in socially acceptable ways, toddlers may exhibit aggressive
behaviours. It is not uncommon for toddlers to hit and bite when they don’t have
the words to express their feelings.
It’s tricky, I must admit. One way to respond is to verbalise the frustration, such
as, ‘Yes, I can see you wanted that toy, but you hurt Billy when you bit him, and I
can’t let you do that’, then turn to the victim and give most of your attention to
them.
From my experience, the more attention you give the aggressor (even negative
attention) the more likely the behaviour is to recur.
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Ignoring the aggression makes it less likely to recur
Toddlers’ fears
As children’s cognitive awareness and functioning develops, they are able to
retain and create images in their mind. One of the characteristics of children
between two and three years of age is that they are often unable to distinguish
between reality and fantasy. Because of the interplay of these two characteristics,
toddlers may develop fears that were not present at an earlier age.
Common fears for toddlers are fear of the dark, being sucked down the plughole
in the bathtub, dogs, trucks, monsters and anything that makes an unexpected
and loud noise such as lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners.
Toddlers often have trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy
How do we respond to toddlers’ fears?
These fears are very real for toddlers and should not be laughed at or dismissed as
being silly. Carers need to accept toddlers’ fears as being real to them. We need to
be patient and understanding in our responses and we need to find solutions that
are gentle and will make toddlers feel comfortable.
Forcing toddlers to confront their fears will only intensify the fear. For example, if
a toddler is afraid of cats, forcing him to pat a cat will only frighten him more.
Perhaps it might be better to introduce him to stories about cats, then encourage
him to look at a cat from the safety of his carer’s lap. Then over time introduce
the toddler to an older, more placid cat. These would be sensible steps to help the
toddler overcome this fear.
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Activity 3
Emotional development in preschoolers
Between the ages of three and six, all young children go through the process of
starting to learn how to cope with the emotions they feel. During this time,
children develop coping strategies that may last a lifetime.
Between the ages of three and five years, children’s emotional responses become
increasingly complex. This is influenced by their cognitive awareness of their social
and cultural environment.
Preschoolers spend a lot of time figuring out the roles they are expected to play in
their world. They learn how to be themselves, how to know themselves and how
to interact with others. They learn to control extremes of emotions and how to
express themselves through many different media.
Preschoolers will experience strong feelings as they develop a sense of personal
identity. They start to learn how to handle a wide range of feelings. They then
start to learn the socially acceptable way of expressing these feelings.
We need to remember that what is socially acceptable in one culture may not be
socially acceptable in another.
Preschoolers learn that some feelings are good feelings. These can include
happiness, excitement, affection and sensuality. They also learn that other
feelings such as anger, jealousy, fear and anxiety do not feel so good.
The biggest change in terms of expressing emotions and feelings is that
preschoolers now are learning to use words to describe how they feel. As carers
we sometimes need to help these children find the words to describe how they
are feeling.
By helping children to talk about how they feel we will reassure them that it is OK
to feel positive emotions such as joy and excitement and more negative emotions
such as anger, sadness and jealousy. It is OK to feel all these emotions—we all do
from time to time. We must help them find socially acceptable ways of expressing
their feelings.
Children need to be reassured that all kinds of emotions are acceptable and
normal. Children especially need to be reassured that feeling angry or jealous or
whatever does not make them bad people.
As well as learning to verbally express their emotions, children also need to be
guided in learning socially acceptable ways of releasing emotions.
Encourage children to release their feelings through play, for example:
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15
•
•
•
•
•
•
water play will relax and soothe
hammering will release anger and jealousy
physical exercise will help to release feelings of anger and aggression
creative play such as drawing and painting can help fears and anxieties
dramatic and pretend play can help children cope with fears and anxieties
talking about their feelings during play will help them to understand
themselves and others.
Self-concept in preschoolers
The development of body awareness helps form a beginning self-concept in
infancy and toddlerhood.
Below are the kinds of awareness preschoolers develop:
•
•
They are aware of themselves as individuals and start to compare their
characteristics and abilities to those of others. They start to describe
themselves as good at craft or as being tall or, maybe, as the only person
with red hair at preschool.
They begin to be aware of what skills and behaviours are valued by their
family and their social group. For example, if a child’s family plays a lot of
sport, the child will be very pleased with herself as she develops skills of
kicking, throwing or batting.
How we think and feel about ourselves is important. Much of how we think and
feel is related to the feedback we receive from significant others in our world. If
the feedback is positive and our characteristics, skills and abilities are valued, we
will develop positive self-esteem.
We need to understand that preschoolers listen very closely to what others have
to say about them. They are also clever at reading body language and very quickly
interpret a gesture of disappointment or pleasure. As carers of preschoolers, we
need to be very careful what we say about them in front of them and indeed
behind their backs!
None of us will ever have an entirely positive or negative self-concept. It is more
likely to reflect recent experiences and our current physical state. What we do
know is that when we are happy we are more likely to approach tasks in a positive
way and are more likely to succeed. When miserable, we tend to be reluctant to
try new things and are more likely to experience a sense of failure. This is as true
for preschoolers as it is for us as adults.
Perhaps one of the strongest indicators of positive self-esteem is the ability to
take negative experiences and learn from them and develop some resilience. If we
have low self-esteem, the negative experiences will strengthen those feelings of
low self-worth and impair our ability to learn and grow.
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Developing initiative in preschoolers
As preschool children grow physically and their cognitive abilities mature, they
develop an increasing sense of their own ability to make things happen. Preschool
children delight in their own ability to figure things out. They learn to plan and to
carry out these plans.
By the time children reach four years of age, they can formulate a plan of action
and carry it through. During the preschool stage children (if caregivers encourage
it) develop initiative—the sense that their own ideas and schemes are valued and
encouraged.
Encouraging initiative in preschoolers
What can a caregiver do to encourage initiative in preschool children, while still
letting them know they can’t do certain things (for example, take a sharp knife
from the kitchen and use it for cutting up things)?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ask children to suggest activities that could be included within the
program.
Treat children’s ideas and suggestions seriously: do not dismiss them with
ridicule or laugh at them.
If children’s ideas are unacceptable (for example, flooding the playground
with water to make a lake), discuss alternatives that are socially
acceptable.
Children will develop guilt and shame if:
they are continually punished for initiating and carrying out plans
their ideas are rejected out of hand, or laughed at or ridiculed or ignored.
If displays of initiative lead to punishment, rejection and guilt, then children will
stop making plans and suggesting ideas and direct their energies into being
obedient and conforming to avoid feeling guilty.
For example, a group of children want to make a cubby. They drag some mats and
boxes together and start to build. There is great energy and excitement as
children discuss and share ideas of what should go where.
A caregiver can respond in a positive way to the cubby building activity by
suggesting materials to use, suggesting a number of locations that are out of the
way of other children’s activities so the children plan and build within the limits.
The result is that the children feel successful.
A carer can respond in a negative way with statements such as:
•
•
•
‘You can’t use that mat.’
‘It’s no good building it there.’
‘It’s nearly pack-up time so you can’t start a cubby now.’
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The result here is that the children feel naughty and guilty about their ideas and
activities.
Preschoolers—fears
One characteristic of preschooler’s thinking is that they have difficulty
distinguishing reality from fantasy, and their imagination is growing rapidly! This
can lead them to have a fear of the dark, fears about monsters or ghosts or they
can be frightened by costumes or an adult pretending to be a lion — even if the
lion is the friendly ‘Paddle pop’ promoting the famous ice-creams.
Preschoolers also fear being separated from their parents or being abandoned in
some way. They may experience nightmares that are either related to some scary
television program, story or something they have overheard.
We need to avoid talking carelessly in front of children about such things as fires
and burglars. It really is important to accept and acknowledge preschoolers’ fears
as real.
Sometimes children can pick up on the fears of adults. For instance, if a parent is
afraid of spiders, their anxiety can cause the preschooler to become even more
afraid of spiders.
We also need to monitor their television viewing so that they are not exposed to
scary programs. This includes the nightly news.
Pre-schoolers—aggression
As we learnt earlier, preschoolers are now more aware of having really strong
feelings. Some of these feelings make them feel good, others not so good.
Sometimes when preschoolers are experiencing the negative feelings of anger and
frustration, they behave aggressively.
Aggression is violent and destructive behaviour that is directed towards other
people and things in the environment. Aggressive behaviour includes biting,
punching, spitting, kicking, screaming, temper tantrums, snatching and grabbing,
pushing hard, breaking and destroying things. It also includes verbal aggression.
Older preschoolers are more likely to be more verbally-aggressive than younger
preschoolers.
When a preschooler starts being aggressive, your first priority is to try and stop
the aggressive behaviour immediately and then help support the child in
developing ways of releasing those strong feelings in a more socially acceptable
way. This, of course, is much more difficult than it sounds.
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During an aggressive episode, it is important to try and remain calm. If the is also
out of control, it’ll make the situation worse. At times it may be necessary to
restrain a child if they a re hurting themselves or someone else. You need to be
firm but calm when you are doing this.
It may be possible to redirect the child who is being aggressive to another activity
and perhaps find him something to do that will allow him to release those
feelings. This could be a physical activity; it could be a water play or painting
activity. Remember the golden rule: the concern is always the behaviour, not the
child!
Moral development during the preschool years
Moral development is about how children learn to decide whether a behaviour is
right or wrong. Children under two do not understand the concept of a behaviour
being right or wrong. It is no good appealing to a two-year-old to ‘do the right
thing’.
After about two years of age, children start to learn that specific behaviours are
wrong and you might hear them saying out loud, ‘No, no, no’ while they are doing
what they shouldn’t do. Knowing that a particular behaviour is wrong won’t
necessarily stop the child from doing it. Caregivers must be realistic about young
children’s understanding of right and wrong.
During the preschool stage, children begin to develop a conscience and
experience uncomfortable guilt feelings if they do something they know is wrong.
However, at this stage, moral standards are inconsistent and will change from one
situation to the next. Children will apply the standard to other children’s
behaviour but not their own. Children will apply the rule in one particular
situation but not in other similar situations.
For example, young children know that you can’t take lollies and eat them when
the lollies belong to someone else, but that doesn’t mean that they understand
that stealing is wrong. They might think it is alright to take someone else’s toy to
play with, for example.
Even though children know a particular behaviour is wrong, they may forget, or
they may not always heed the rule. Young children operate in the present and are
unable to foresee the consequences of their behaviour. They are egocentric
(unable to see situations from another’s point of view) and so often the urge to
meet their own need at a particular time is greater than their feelings of guilt.
With greater cognitive maturity, experience and the development of altruism,
preschool children gradually develop greater understanding of what is right and
wrong and will apply this in more and more situations.
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Children face moral problems in day-to-day situations. They have to work out fair
ways of sharing things. They have to decide whether to tell on another child who
has broken a rule. They have to decide whether or not to steal the chocolate
another child had put down for eating later. Children have to learn what is right
and what is wrong and they have to learn to resist temptations. This takes time,
experience and maturity.
Activity 4
Activity 5
Activity 6
Emotional development in school-aged
children
The world of school-aged children
During middle childhood, the child’s world begins to expand beyond the home
and local community. By the end of this stage children:
•
•
•
•
begin to form a society of their own
greatly start to enjoy and value the companionship of their peers
share fewer of their inner thoughts with adults
are more capable and self-sufficient and so demand less of their parents’
time.
In some aspects there seems to be less dramatic change during this stage,
compared to the earlier stages. Personality traits are usually well established and
tend to persist throughout these years.
Social and emotional development
Although we may not be as privy to the school-aged child’s world any more, we
can learn a lot about them. This is because during this period their development
has reached a stage where:
•
•
•
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they express themselves readily in language
their memories are well formulated
they start to develop and learn the skills and behaviours of their culture
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•
•
they can participate in all the leisure activities that adults do
with the same refinement or precision but certainly with the same
enthusiasm
their minds are curious: when supporting school-aged children’s
development, carers will find themselves being constantly challenged by
curious minds and growing social abilities and interests.
Remember, there are individual differences in the rate of development of schoolaged children—just as in the earlier stages.
School-aged children’s development in the social–emotional domain strongly
influences the way they develop in the other domains. They now experience new
relationships and interactions. These have major effects on their social and
emotional development. While many children meet these new challenges with
excitement and success, others become overwhelmed and stressed.
The theorist Urie Bronfenbrenner sees the world in which children grow as having
a major influence on their development. You will remember that he describes this
as a two-way influence. The nature of the child will influence the way people in
the environment will interact with that child. Bronfenbrenner identifies family,
school, peers and friends as having a significant influence on children’s
development. He also believes that the relationships between these influences (ie
family and school; friends and family; etc) could have an effect on children’s’
development.
Self-concept and self-esteem
The development of self-concept has been identified as the most significant
milestone of the child aged five to 12 years. You will remember that self-concept
is the picture that we have of ourselves in terms of our skills, qualities and
abilities. Self-esteem is the value we place on our skills, qualities and abilities and
how we believe others value us in terms of our skills and abilities.
In middle childhood there is a shift in children’s self-concept. Their self-concept is
no longer based on their physical characteristics and skills. They now start to
describe themselves in terms of qualities and abilities. For example, they might
describe themselves as being a kind person, a good child, a good fielder or a
terrible reader.
School-aged children now start to compare themselves with others. They start to
judge their skills and abilities against the skills and abilities of others. They also
look for more information about themselves from more people. For example, how
they compare to others at school, their friends down the road or people in their
sporting team. They also become more skilled at reading the messages they gain
from other people and consider tone of voice, facial expression and body
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language as part of the feedback. They may then modify their self-concept and
this can change their self-esteem.
During middle childhood, children need to learn skills and to be involved in tasks
where they feel a sense of achievement and responsibility. They need to feel
important to other people and valued by other people.
It’s important to look at success in terms of effort, not only in terms of
achievement. Coming first or winning awards or being best are not the only ways
of being successful. Children need to learn that success can be looked at in
different ways. The amount of effort or playing fairly or sticking at a task are all
ways children (or adults) can be successful.
During middle childhood children no longer seem content to play just for the
enjoyment of playing. From about six years old, children want to put their
energies into producing something real.
If children’s efforts and achievements are praised, respected and encouraged then
children feel successful and competent. If children’s efforts and achievements are
laughed at, criticised or ignored, they will feel a failure and incompetent.
Children also become very aware of how others expect them to perform and will
begin to feel incompetent if they don’t live up to the expectations of others.
A child who feels successful and competent:
•
•
•
•
•
has a happy personality
is keen to try new things
shows persistence at tasks
has friendships with other children
will take on responsibility.
Children during middle childhood can:
•
•
•
•
be very sensitive to the criticism of others
be very sensitive about how well they do things (eg, read, write, play
sport, make friends, speak publicly, make things in craft)
experience mood changes
worry about what others think of them.
Activity 7
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Significant people in a child’s life are people who matter to the child. Strangers
(for example, a person on the bus) may say something negative or positive to a
child but this does not have the same impact as when a father or a particular
friend says the same thing.
Significant others in a child's life
Activity 8
Influences on the development of self-concept and self-esteem
From the scenarios above, you can see that the feedback children receive from
significant others will influence their development of self-concept and selfesteem.
Family
A child’s family can have a big impact on their development of self-concept and
self-esteem. However, as they begin to spend more time away from their family,
the influence can lessen.
Today, children grow up in a wide range of family types. There are nuclear families
(two parents and children), single-parent families (the mother or father is
responsible for the care and upbringing of the children), extended families
(families which include aunts, uncles, cousins and/or grandparents), same-gender
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families (the parents are of the same gender) and blended families (families
whose members include children from both parents’ previous relationships).
No matter which family type children grow up in, if they feel loved, safe and
secure they will develop a sense of belonging and they will develop positive selfesteem. However, if they feel unsafe and insecure they may develop feelings of
low self-worth and low self-esteem.
The way children’s behaviour is managed in the family will also influence their
developing self-concept. If they are harshly criticised or humiliated when
punished, they are more likely to develop a poor self-concept and low selfesteem. However, where rules are clearly and fairly developed through discussion
and children are able to relate actions to consequences, they are more likely to
develop positive feelings about themselves.
Siblings
When we talk about siblings we mean brothers and sisters. Did you grow up with
brothers and sisters? Do you remember fights and squabbles or were your siblings
close friends?
Siblings can be a great source of support for school-aged children. Older brothers
and sisters can help school-aged children with the development of skills,
homework, or help them resolve conflicts that they are experiencing outside the
home.
However, siblings can also be unsupportive. They can be overly competitive; this is
called sibling rivalry. In some family situations, when school-aged children do
something, excel at some activity or gain some skill, they may get negative
feedback from their brothers or sisters. This may be because their siblings feel
threatened by the achievements or jealous that others have learned to do
something that they have not yet been able to do. If school-aged children
continually get negative responses from their siblings they are more likely to
develop low self-esteem. Sibling rivalry is quite common and it is also common for
siblings to be both supportive and critical at different times.
Peers
Peers have a significant influence on school-aged children’s development of selfconcept and self-esteem. The feedback that school-aged children receive from
their peers is valuable because peers are viewed as being equals or having equal
status. The peer group will allow children to gather some self-knowledge about
their skills and abilities. So if the peer group recognises that a particular child is a
really good swimmer, then the child is more likely to believe it than if their
parents told them.
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During middle childhood children make friends with others of the same gender
and of similar socio-economic background, popularity and interests. At school
there are usually a number of peer groups within each class. There is usually one
group which everyone would like to be part of. This is often referred to as the
popular group, or the ‘in’ or ‘cool’ group. Children’s happiness and feelings of selfesteem can be influenced by whether or not they are included in this group on
any particular day.
Carers and teachers
Were you ever treated unfairly by a carer or a teacher when you were a schoolaged child? My guess is that if you were, you still remember the incident as if it
happened yesterday. When my father was in his eighties he used to recall a story
about how he was punished for something he didn’t do when he was eight years
old!
As carers or teachers we play a significant role in children’s lives. If we treat them
with respect and fairness we will enjoy positive relationships with them. We will
be able to support their development of positive self-esteem. However, if we
criticise them, or are harsh in our judgments and inconsistent in our responses,
we will have poor relationships with children and will contribute to their low
feelings of worth. Remember, we need to only criticise the behaviour, not the
child!
School-aged—stress
Stress is the term we use to describe the pressure or anxiety we feel when events
seem to overwhelm us and seem out of our control. School-aged children can
experience stress in a number of situations. Stress can interfere with positive
social relationships, the development of social skills and self-esteem.
School-aged—fears
Much of the school-aged child’s stress is related to their fears. Because they are
less egocentric now, have broader social experiences and have a more effective
memory and thinking skills, they have new concerns. They are now much more
aware of issues such as physical safety, media events, school expectations, family
relationships, peer relationships, health issues for family members,
hospitalisation, abuse and poverty.
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School-aged children are more aware of media events
For example, if they see a report on an earthquake disaster on television, they
may worry that they too may experience an earthquake. If they know that their
friend’s parents have divorced, they may start to worry when they hear their
parents arguing. If a relative has died in hospital, they may start to fear that if
anyone they know goes to hospital they too may die.
It’s important that we accept children’s fears as being real. When we provide
information about their fears, they are more likely to be able to deal with them.
The difficulty is, of course, that many children will hide their fears because they
think people may think that they are silly or they may worry about being teased.
When this happens, they may engage in acting out or withdrawn behaviour. We
therefore need to be sensitive to children’s moods. If we develop positive
relationships with children, they are more likely to feel comfortable in telling us
about their fears and we can then help them come to terms with these fears.
School-aged—anger
The causes of anger and the way children express angry feelings also change in
middle childhood. As children become older and less egocentric they become
angry about such things they view as ‘unfair’ or ‘not right’ (eg cruelty to animals,
unfair punishment). Frustration about not being able to do something will still
lead to angry feelings.
Children in middle childhood tend to express their anger by:
•
•
•
physical aggression—this is more common among boys than girls and
declines for both boys and girls as they get older
verbal outbursts; this is more common among girls than boys
sulking.
School-aged—bullying
Being bullied is unfortunately not a new situation. Bullying has been going on in
school, out of school and in neighbourhoods for generations. Children have been
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thumped, harassed and humiliated for years. Both boys and girls can be the
victims of bullying and both boys and girls can be bullies.
In recent years there has been more media attention given to bullying and its
effects. There is a changing attitude towards bullying and schools and out-ofschool-hours services for children have developed policies and strategies to try
and prevent bullying in these environments.
The victims of bullying behaviour often develop poor social skills, experience
nightmares and perhaps fears about walking to and from school. They are less
likely to learn at school and usually develop a poor self-concept and low selfesteem.
It is important that we discourage bullying when working with school-aged
children. We need to work with children to set firm limits for unacceptable
behaviour, monitor both indoor and outdoor play spaces and reward consistent
positive behaviour.
School-aged—crises
A crisis can be described as an event that is traumatic and unexpected. A crisis is
stressful and causes huge anxiety for those who are involved.
Typical crisis situations include separation or divorce of parents, death of a parent
or sibling, hospitalisation, chronic illness, moving house, domestic violence or the
death of a pet. Any of these situations can be severely stressful for a child.
Even though their thinking skills now allow them to understand more about how
things happen, they still can’t always understand the way things happen and the
broader implications.
A crisis can affect all areas of development. If you read the following story you will
see how this can happen.
Recently a ten-year-old girl was diagnosed as having a very rare form of
cancer. The family were in a crisis situation, not only for the ill child but
also for the parents, siblings and grandparents. The parents immediately
took the child to the city for treatment and the siblings were entrusted to
their grandparents. Routines were disrupted, responsibilities changed and
anxiety and fear ran rampant within this family. For the next few months,
each of the family members were filled with anxiety. To some degree,
each was experiencing their own crisis. The ten-year-old was scared and
thrust into the unfamiliar environment of the hospital. The siblings aged
five and eight were separated from their parents and moved into the
home of their grandparents. Their safe, secure and predictable life had
been disrupted. The grandparents were no longer relaxed in their
retirement for they once again had to deal with caring for young children
and the responsibilities associated with that task. Of course the parents
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not only were filled with anxiety about their child’s uncertain future but
also how they were going to be able to keep their jobs to pay the bills.
The responses of the children were significant. After some days, the fiveyear-old started asking for his family and appeared to start to lose
confidence in both new and familiar situations. He would cry when left at
school and stayed close to the teacher at all times. He started to wet the
bed and developed a constant whining tone when he spoke. Later he
became angry and expressed his desire for everyone to return home.
The eight-year-old appeared to be grieving the loss of her family and her
sibling, especially as she was also her best friend. Until this time she had
been a spirited child. Gradually she started to become overly compliant
and extraordinarily helpful to her grandparents and at school. As the
weeks wore on and the absence of those she loved extended, she wished
she was the one who was sick because then she would have her mum and
dad’s undivided attention. Then it seemed to hit that her sister might die.
She started having nightmares about her sister and her parents dying.
The ten-year-old initially seemed too sick to care. However, as her
treatment progressed and her illness was explained by doctors, hospital
staff and her parents, she seemed to develop a new confidence and sense
of control of her destiny. She seemed to develop an inner strength as she
learned more about her progress and at the same time because of her
increased interaction with adults, started to become precocious. When
she returned home, she appeared detached from her siblings and unable
to relate to them.
From this situation, it is possible to see that because the five-year-old had less
understanding of what was happening, his stress was expressed by him reverting
to earlier behaviours. The eight-year-old had more understanding of the crisis,
however, and it changed the way she interacted with other people. The ten-yearold understood more about the crisis but had the support of her parents and so
her thinking skills developed and she extended her language and social skills with
adults.
When children are experiencing a crisis it is important that we listen to what they
are saying about it and what they are not saying. We may need to comfort and
reassure them. If we ensure that we develop positive relationships with children,
we will gain their trust and then we will be able to provide more support for them.
We can look at practical options that could be available to support the children
and their families during crisis situations.
School-aged—happiness
Not all emotions school-aged children experience are negative. They also
experience the positive feelings of joy, pleasure and mirth. If you walk past a
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school playground at recess you will usually hear peals of laughter as children play
and interact with one another.
When children are feeling good about themselves and enjoying the
companionship of others, they will show happiness. If they receive a gift or are
looking forward to a birthday party or visits from relatives, they will show
happiness. If you have been involved with a sleep-over you will know about the
giggling and laughter that goes on for hours into the night! This is happiness.
When children are not happy, their body language tells the story. Shoulders are
drooped, faces are sad and movements are sluggish. Children who have no friends
or who don’t feel valued or happy at home will demonstrate this behaviour. When
things aren’t going well in children’s lives and they are unhappy, they may
become withdrawn, demanding or aggressive. How do you behave when you
aren’t happy? I know for me it’s not much different to this.
Steve Biddulph’s book, The Secret of Happy Children, includes some useful
suggestions to help children feel happy. It’s worth a look if you have access to a
TAFE library.
Activity 9
Activity 10
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Involve children in decision-making
where circumstances safely allow
Autonomy or independence
Eloise has always been a very easy-going baby, but at the age of 20 months she
seems less so. She screams ‘No!’ when it’s bedtime, dinnertime or even when it’s
time to go outside to play. When it’s time to get dressed, she insists on putting
her own shoes on then throws a tantrum if her mother tries to help her or if she
gets them on the wrong feet.
What has happened here? Why has Eloise changed from an easy-going baby to a
somewhat obstinate toddler? Eloise has discovered that ‘no’ is a powerful social
word and that it seems to have a great impact on her mother.
Toddlers are well-known for their negativism
Toddlers are well known for their negativism. Negativism is defined as the
toddler’s absolute and intentional refusal to do as an adult asks. Toddlers shout
‘no’ or they ignore the adult completely. Negativism is an attempt by the child to
be independent and exert control over a situation. Negativism is at its most
intense between the ages of 18 months and three years. After age three this
behaviour starts to decline.
Significant social and emotional changes lead toddlers to behave in new and
challenging ways in the second year of life.
Toddlers are now aware of themselves as separate beings. They are moving away
from total dependence on their carers and wanting to do things for themselves.
The new skills they are developing give them the necessary tools for doing some
things independently.
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Their gross and fine motor skills now enable toddlers to go where they want to go
and do tasks for themselves. Their new cognitive skills mean that they can now
think about their own ideas and experiment and discover things for themselves.
Their language skills enable them to tell others what they want or need or what
they are interested in.
What are the implications for carers?
We have learnt that toddlers need to feel independent. They need to have
support, encouragement, achievable tasks and time to do things for themselves.
However, they also need to be protected from harm and guided so that they learn
what is acceptable behaviour. They need to have their attempts at independence
recognised and valued if they are to develop a sense of autonomy and positive
self-esteem.
We can promote toddlers’ striving for autonomy by providing an environment and
materials that allow as much independence as possible. We do, however, need to
set reasonable limits on behaviour and be consistent in managing and maintaining
limits. The limits should be put in place to protect the child.
It’s important that toddlers are encouraged to make choices. However, if you
want toddlers to do something, you will need to limit those choices. For example,
you are likely to gain more cooperation if you say to the toddler, ‘Will you have
your dinner before or after your bath? If you ask the question, ‘Do you want to
have your bath now?’ or ‘Are you ready to have your dinner now?’, the most likely
response is ‘no’ and you will find yourself in conflict with a very obstinate little
person.
Helping toddlers make decisions
If we give toddlers the opportunity to make simple decisions, we are helping them
develop a sense of competence and autonomy. When we encourage toddlers to
decide whether they want a glass of milk or a glass of water, we are helping them
develop a greater sense of themselves as being important and competent
individuals. However, as I said earlier, it is better to limit their decision making to
choosing between two acceptable options.
Activity 11
Cultural differences in the development of autonomy
Cultural beliefs and practices may affect the degree to which children will seek
autonomy. For instance, indigenous American parents have been found to
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emphasise restraint and control in toddlerhood, not independence and selfexpression. Puerto Rican mothers encourage physical closeness, respect for and
obedience to adults, tranquil behaviour and good manners, even during the
toddler stage.
It seems that parental expectations will have an effect on the development of
autonomy, as, too, will methods of discipline and a child’s personality. It seems
that when parents foster independence, they will be more supportive of the
development of autonomy. However, when dependence and obedience are
valued, behaviour guidance strategies are put into place so that children are less
autonomous.
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Acknowledge, encourage and
appreciate children’s efforts and
identify and celebrate children’s
social, emotional and psychological
successes
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is an important part of a person’s self-concept. (If you remember,
self-concept is the picture we have of ourselves and self-esteem is the value we
place upon those qualities, skills and attributes.) Toddlers who develop a sense
of autonomy or control over their lives are more likely to develop positive selfesteem. Much of this is dependent upon the feedback they receive from us as
carers.
Self-esteem begins to emerge in toddlers’ second year. The feedback they receive
from us as caregivers will help facilitate the development of self-esteem.
Toddlers now need recognition for their achievements. So, if we give them praise
and encouragement for a newly accomplished skill, they will feel good about
themselves. For example, if they pour milk from a jug into a cup without spilling
too much, we need to give them positive feedback for their efforts.
Activity 12
How can we support the development
of self-concept and self-esteem?
Children need support in developing new skills. They also need positive feedback
from us for their efforts. If we give children achievable tasks then we allow them
to experience success. Sometimes it is necessary to break tasks down into smaller
steps so that they are more achievable.
Children need opportunities to demonstrate and practise their skills, so
sometimes by giving them responsibility we will be recognising their skills. This
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will contribute to them having positive feelings about themselves and motivate
them to try new things.
They also need to be accepted and valued by their teachers, carers, family and
friends. They need to have a sense of belonging to a culture, a family, a class, a
team and a peer group. Sometimes children will need help to gain acceptance by
their peers. Sometimes we as carers will need to intervene by helping particular
groups of children to focus on the less popular child’s particular skills. We could
also help a child develop some special interests that could be shared with others
in the group.
We can help shy children in our care become assertive. We can role-model
socially acceptable behaviours and give children support as they enter a group
situation. We can give them opportunities to take on a leadership role and help
them learn cooperative behaviours. We can encourage them to do activities with
one other child so that they can develop a relationship with that child.
When children have high self-esteem they are not only happy but they are more
likely to succeed and be keen to try new things. They will persist at tasks for
longer periods and they are more likely to be accepted by peers and will develop
friendships with other children. In short, they will develop a healthy personality.
A final note on self-esteem
We need to note that children do not have either high self-esteem all the time or
low self-esteem all the time. It is possible for children to have high self-esteem in
some areas such as sport or reading and have low self-esteem in other areas such
as maths or music. Children’s judgments of themselves sometimes change when
they get new responses from significant people. If they start to get positive
feedback for their efforts in maths, for instance, they may start to feel better
about themselves in terms of maths and start to develop higher self-esteem in
this area.
Activity 13
Activity 14
Activity 15
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Give individual attention to each child
Temperament
Temperament refers to the inborn or natural way we respond to events,
experiences and people. Some believe that a baby’s temperament is the
beginning of the child–adult personality which will develop over time as a result of
environmental influences.
You can probably identify different temperaments among your family and friends.
You may know someone who is very placid and slow to react in different
situations while another person may become very excited or angry quickly.
Someone else may resist change and like routine so that their life is predictable.
Each newborn baby enters life with his or her own unique temperament. This
basic inborn temperament will influence the way the baby responds to the world
and the way caregivers and others will interact with them.
Three basic temperament types have been identified:
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The ‘easy’ baby: this baby is placid and accepts change easily. About 40
per cent of babies fall into this category.
The ‘slow to warm up’ baby: this baby initially withdraws, but given time
and encouragement will accept change. About 15 per cent of babies fall
into this category.
The ‘difficult’ baby (sometimes called ‘high need’ babies): this baby is
easily distressed and is disturbed by changes to routines. About 10 per
cent of babies fall into this category.
This accounts for 65 per cent of babies, so there are another 35 per cent of babies
who don’t fit neatly into these well-defined types but rather are a mixture of all
three.
What sort of baby were you? You might like to ask people who knew you as a
baby the following questions.
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Did I sleep a lot?
Did I cry a lot?
Did I smile a lot?
Was I easy to settle?
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The answers to these questions may give you an idea of your temperament when
you were a baby and maybe the kind of temperament you have today.
Temperament and caregiving implications
Temperament can influence the relationship and interaction between a caregiver
and a baby. Good caregiving practice is sensitive to the baby’s temperament. The
term ‘goodness of fit’ has been used by researchers to describe a meshing of the
caregiving style with the baby’s temperament. When the caregiving style meshes
with the baby’s temperament, things are easier for both caregiver and baby.
Babies with a ‘difficult’ temperament will usually thrive in a structured,
predictable environment with routines for sleep, feeding and bathing. They don’t
respond well to being taken out to new places and being fed and put to sleep in
strange environments. They cry with great intensity when distressed.
Sometimes a baby may be identified as a baby with a difficult temperament when
really the baby is distressed because she or he is uncomfortable or has a particular
condition. If a baby is continually distressed and hard to settle, then advice should
be sought from a doctor or early childhood nurse. For example, a baby may have a
condition known as reflux (milk is brought up after a feed) and in this case the
baby needs to be fed on demand rather than on a strict schedule.
A child with an ‘easy’ temperament ‘goes with the flow’, as they adapt to changes
quite easily. A caregiver can take the baby out to new places and the baby will
cope with changes to feeding and sleeping arrangements.
‘Slow to warm up’ babies need time to feel comfortable in new situations. A
caregiver needs to work in with the baby’s need to be introduced slowly to new
experiences.
Respond to children’s feelings openly
and with respect
Some of the ways you can ensure that your interactions with children are
frequent, caring and respectful are to:
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spend time with each child
communicate interest and respect
follow up on interactions
respect children's privacy.
We need to ‘tune in’ to children in order to make sure our interactions are
appropriate to their individual requirements. In this way we accord children the
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCFC301A: Reader LO 9248
© NSW DET 2010
respect they deserve and can be sure that interactions and provisions we use will
interest and stimulate individual children.
We particularly need to encourage children aged two to six years to identify their
own feelings, express them appropriately and develop coping strategies to deal
with change and stress in their lives.
Praise and encouragement given to children needs to be sincere and realistically
reflect what has happened—it is inappropriate to just say ‘well done’ or ‘good
boy/girl’. Caregivers need to ensure that children know what they did and why it
is valued.
Recognise issues of concern related to
child’s participation in experiences, for
emotional and psychological
development
As children learn more about how to interact positively with others, there may be
an increasing incidence of children withdrawing from a group situation if they are
feeling uncertain or not included. Alternately, these children may become quite
disruptive and antagonistic towards others to ensure that the group is noticing
them. Children may begin to mask their true feelings by displaying one that they
think is more acceptable, especially to hide uncertainty or embarrassment.
It is extremely important that carers get to know each child well and are able to
quickly identify the messages the child is communicating through non-verbal
methods. If carers are able to do this successfully, the child continues to feel
valued and respected.
Conduct and record, in line with work
role, observations of children’s
behaviour or other expressions that
may indicate social, emotional or
psychological concerns
You need to develop your observational skills to be able to gather key information
about individual children. We are often very good at picking up on other adults’
reactions during interactions but are sometimes less skilful in seeing and
interpreting children’s behaviour. Sometimes this is difficult as we cannot rely on
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCFC301A: Reader LO 9248
© NSW DET 2010
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children using sophisticated language to tell us what they want, and some of the
cues children use may be quite subtle.
Caregivers need to know the children in their care and notice when changes in
behaviour occur. These changes should be discussed with the family and with the
other room staff so possible causes can be explored.
Sometimes stress and associated behaviours are short term and can be easily
managed whereas long term concerns need to not only be addressed and
strategies developed to manage the stress but also monitored on a regular basis.
Remember from your Readings for CHCCHILD401A the signs that may indicate
emotional abuse:
Signs in children
constant feelings of worthlessness about
life and themselves
inability to value others
lack of trust in people
lack of people skills necessary for daily
functioning
extreme attention-seeking behaviour
other behavioural disorders e.g. bullying,
disruptiveness, aggressiveness
exposure to domestic violence
suicide threats or attempts
persistent running away from home
Children who are experiencing emotional, social and/or psychological difficulties
may experience sleeplessness, nightmares, stomach aches, headaches, nausea
and may become withdrawn or engage in acting our behaviour. However, school
age children become very skilled at hiding their feelings and it might not be
obvious to carers that they experiencing stress. Often a child’s inappropriate
response or behaviour conceal deeper underlying feelings. If you feel concern for
any child in your care, even if they are not displaying any of these symptoms you
should report your concerns to your supervisor.
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCFC301A: Reader LO 9248
© NSW DET 2010