As parents, raising a kid is not as easy as it looks. Raising a kid involves a lot of responsibility, and at the same time, one has to keep track of the activities / development stages a toddler goes through. It is much easier for parents to track their child’s physical development but as for social and emotional development, it becomes difficult to track. Social and emotional development of a toddler is very important. Social and emotional development in a kid is like a building block and it is also known as the brain development. You may be wondering what exactly social development is and why it is important. Social development is the development of toddlers which help them develop positive skills, empathy and social values around them. Social development is important because it is considered an integral part in toddler’s development. If the toddler is not socially developed, he will hesitate in meeting new people and thus will lack confidence in the long run which will add a negative impact. Emotional development is a development which helps the baby to understand different emotions. From day one, we can see emotional development in the baby as he/she will feel comfortable with some expressions and so on. There are different levels of social and emotional development in toddlers. From day one various reasons that are responsible for social and emotional development are:
Healthy baby
A baby is who is healthy manages his emotions better than an unhealthy baby who is always cranky.
Family influencers
If your family is happy and spreading love and peace, the child will be more confident emotionally, similarly if the family is fighting or stressed out all the time the baby will become introvert.
Culture
The culture that is the baby’s surroundings play a great role in social and emotional development. Child's first school is his home and he learns almost all his etiquette and upbringing from his house.
Media
Media such as television, internet and newspaper play an important role because they teach what they see. Point to remember is that one should always focus on the age of a baby and then help them inculcate good habits. As parents, it’s our duty to support and love them so that they are independent emotionally and socially. To help a child gain socially and emotional independence, we parents should play an important role. Our behaviour towards each other (husband & wife), or how we deal with others, showing respect to elders and love to juniors, how we treat our helpers, define a lot about our upbringing and seeing our behaviour towards all, the child gradually learns the same. It's our duty to help the child understand the difference between right and wrong. Gender equality, respecting women and helping others – are some of the basics to be taught. A child is emotionally and socially secure when he will know the difference between right and wrong, and it can’t be done without our support. As parents, we need to listen and show respect to their decision too. In short, a good relationship is the key for all.
