 Helping Young Children Succeed: Strategies to Promote Early Childhood Social and Emotional Development
Published 2006
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Introduction The early years of life lay the foundation for a child’s development today and during the course of his or her life. From the time of conception to the first day of kindergarten, development proceeds at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent stage of life.1 It is during this time that the brain undergoes its most dramatic growth, and children acquire the ability to think, speak, learn and reason. Early experiences can and do influence the physical architecture of the brain,2 literally shaping the neural connections in an infant’s developing brain. Gaining social and emotional skills enables children to learn from teachers, make friends, express thoughts and feelings, and cope with frustration. These kinds of skills, in turn, directly influence cognitive learning such as early literacy, numeracy and language skills.3 A child who cannot remain calm, focus on a task and stick with it will not be able to take advantage of an opportunity to interact with an adult who is reading her a story—an activity that effectively promotes early language and literacy skills. Ensuring that young children arrive at school ready to learn has become a national priority. State policymakers have an opportunity to have a significant and lasting effect on young children’s development by enacting policies that support healthy social-emotional development of young children from birth to age five. Social and emotional development extends beyond the realm of education to reach human services, health, economic development, and environmental policies. This brief defines early childhood social-emotional development; describes what can happen when children face emotional and behavioral problems; and outlines what actions can be taken at the state level to support healthy social-emotional development in babies and young children. It also highlights state and community efforts to improve early childhood social and emotional development through promotion, prevention and treatment approaches. 
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