Domain 2: Social and Emotional Development: 9-18 months

An adult and child bond

Goal 9: Children develop positive relationships with adults

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Become upset when separated from familiar adults.
  • Seek comfort from a familiar adult when upset or tired.
  • Respond to adult’s verbal greeting (waves and smiles).
  • Engage with adults during play (puts shapes in shape sorter).
  • Respond positively to adult help most of the time.
  • Use familiar adult as a “secure base” to explore (looks to adult for indication of appropriate and inappropriate behavior).

YOU CAN

  • Provide consistent, predictable routines and experiences.
  • Align home and school (routines, supportive language and strategies).
  • Show respect for children and everyone in his/her environment (listens, considers, responds).
  • Encourage attempts by infant for attention (“You wanted me to pick you up so you put your arms up like this!”).
  • Describe what they’re doing as they do it (“I am going to put your dirty diaper here and get a clean one.”).
  • Describe child’s actions (“You crawled to the toy box to get your favorite toy!”).
  • Talk about feelings (“That was scary for me. When I’m scared I breathe and calm myself.”).
  • Use comfort items to calm and ease separations (child brings blanket to school and grandma’s).

Goal 10: Children develop positive relationships with other children

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Show interest in children (moves closer, offers a toy, vocalizes to get attention of child).
  • Engage in problems regarding possession of items (takes toy, cries when toy is taken).
  • Imitate another child’s behavior or activity (follows, laughs, pounds on drum).
  • Respond to other children’s emotions (when another child is upset child pats upset child’s head or back to console).
  • Use gestures and a few words to communicate (says “mine” or “no”).
  • Trade and shares toys with assistance.
  • Accept adult help to solve problems.

YOU CAN

  • Provide opportunities for children to play with other children from their own and other cultural backgrounds (library, play groups, church, family events).
  • Show child how to care for a baby in play (rocking, feeding and reading to baby or doll).
  • Show child how to gesture or sign to communicate their wants and needs (“Can I have a turn?” hold out hand palm up, sign language “more”).
  • Involve children in problem solving (shows calm, guided breaths and then offering choice to the children).
  • Demonstrate cooperation and problem solving with others in daily tasks (preparing a meal with other family members).
  • Show how to take turns (trades a preferred item for a non-preferred item and asks if you can have it when he/she is done).
  • Engage children in books about children in other cultures playing together.
  • Provide more than one of the children’s favorite toys to reduce problems and begins trading and sharing.
  • Play turn-taking games with child (peek-a-boo, stacking toys).
  • Listen respectfully and responds to child’s needs and requests.
  • Practice with children noticing and naming their feelings and the feelings of others.

Goal 11: Children demonstrate awareness of behavior and its effects

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Repeat actions many times to cause a desired effect (smile because it makes parent or caregiver smile and laugh).
  • Show understanding that characters from books are connected with certain actions or behaviors (animal books and animal sounds).
  • Recognize that certain adult actions are associated with expected behavior (I am supposed to go to sleep when an adult puts me in bed).

YOU CAN

  • Respond consistently to child’s behaviors with similar actions, tones and words.
  • Be aware of his/her responses to child’s behavior; reinforces positive behavior and redirects negative behavior.
  • Tell stories and sings songs from child’s home culture.

Goal 12: Children participate positively in group activities

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Express joy with other children or when a familiar adult is present.
  • Begin to participate in simple play, side by side with other children.
  • Show increasing interest in family and community gatherings.

YOU CAN

  • Play with child near other children (park, gym, community center).
  • Provide opportunities for child to be part of groups (story time, toddler gyms, play dates).
  • Involve child in family and community gatherings.
  • Talk with and describe to child what is taking place (“We are going to the library story hour, where there will be other children.”).

Goal 13: Children adapt to diverse settings

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Begin to separate from primary caregiver in familiar settings outside home.
  • Begin to explore and play in a range of familiar settings.
  • Initiate simple social interactions with peers.

YOU CAN

  • Accept that child may be uncomfortable when routines change and provide comfort when needed.
  • Create a caregiving environment that reflects child’s home culture and to create consistent settings.

Goal 14: Children demonstrate empathy for others

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Look sad or concerned when another child is crying or upset. May seek adult help or offer a toy or blanket to comfort child.
  • Begin to help other children who are sad or hurt.
  • Begin to explore plants, flowers and other living things through senses (touching, seeing, tasting, smelling, hearing).

YOU CAN

  • Support child in stressful situations.
  • Provide mirrors and chances for child to see faces and emotions.
  • Name emotions.
  • Show empathy with adults, children, animals.
  • Provide regular opportunities to play outdoors.

Goal 15: Children recognize, appreciate, and respect similarities and differences in people

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Observe body parts and self in mirror.
  • Focus attention on others.
  • Notice others’ physical characteristics.
  • Interact with others who are of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, of different gender, speak other languages or have special needs.

YOU CAN

  • Tell stories and reads books to child that explore people with diverse abilities and cultures.
  • Provide infants with dolls and toys from other ethnicities and cultures.

Goal 16: Children show awareness of their unique self

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Respond with head turn, gesture or vocalization when name is spoken.
  • Respond or come when called by a familiar adult.
  • Show awareness of self in voice, mirror image, and body.
  • Attempt to complete basic daily living tasks (eating, getting dressed).
  • Show preference for familiar adults and peers.
  • Point or move toward desired people or objects.
  • Repeat a motion or noise to see if outcome is the same.
  • Protest when does not want to do something (arch back when doesn’t want to sit in high chair).
  • Respond to requests for action (claps for the song).
  • Point to at least two body parts, when asked.

YOU CAN

  • Help child learn to calm self (show calming behavior, offers soothing objects).
  • Notice and supports child’s efforts to calm self.
  • Gives child time to remain engaged in activities.
  • Accept varying levels of independence and stronger bonds with family and community.
  • Tell stories and sings songs from child’s home culture.
  • Provide child with choices of activities and objects to play with.
  • Provide safe environments for active exploration.
  • Talk with child about body parts and body functions (“We use our teeth to chew.”).
  • Delight with child over accomplishments and explorations.
  • Provide a rich variety of experiences and follow child’s lead during play and exploration.

Goal 17: Children demonstrate belief in their abilities to control motivation, behavior and social environment

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Explore environment at increasing distances from caregiver, returning for reassurances.
  • Look to caregiver when accomplishing new tasks (standing or walking).
  • Give objects or toys to others (pick up ball, then reach to give it to caregiver).
  • Smile and express joy when succeeding in a task/activity.

YOU CAN

  • Play with child individually every day.
  • Stay near child to provide encouragement.
  • Provide a safe environment for child to explore many activities.
  • Describe and acknowledge child’s actions and accomplishments (by smiling and saying “you took off your socks.”).

Goal 18: Children understand and follow rules and routines

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Engage in some regular behaviors (sing or babble self to sleep, goes to high chair to be fed.)
  • Follow some consistently set rules and routines.
  • Anticipate and follows simple routines, with reminders and assistance (help to pick up and put away blocks at clean-up time).
  • Begin to understand that change in activities, settings, and routines are part of the day and can be managed with adult support.

YOU CAN

  • Be emotionally available and sensitive to child and his/her needs.
  • Establish consistent routines while being flexible to meet child’s needs.

Goal 19: Children regulate their feelings and impulses

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Look to or seek comfort when distressed and accept comfort from a familiar adult.
  • Comfort self by clutching, sucking, or stroking when tired or stressed (calm while stroking or holding soft blanket).

YOU CAN

  • Snuggle, cuddle, and physically nurture child in ways that provide comfort (appropriate to their specific sensory needs; not forcing a child to accept a hug).
  • Stay with child during stressful situations to help him/her regulate emotions.
  • Manage own emotions and impulses, including naming own emotions, with the child.
  • Accept child’s expression of a full range of emotions (display understanding when child shows anger).
  • Notice and support child’s efforts to calm self and connect with caregivers.

Goal 20: Children express appropriately a range of emotions

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Respond to emotional cues and social situations (cry when other babies cry).
  • Smile, wave, or laugh in response to positive adult interaction.

YOU CAN

  • Respond to child’s displays of distress by staying with child and sensitively helping child with difficult feelings.
  • Show facial expressions to express emotions.
  • Nurture child with kind words, hugs, and cuddles, being sensitive to individual sensory needs (not forcing a child to accept a hug).
  • Respond to child’s displays of pleasure by matching child’s emotions with facial expressions, tone, and words, describing and identifying emotions.
  • Use words and pictures to teach child to associate feelings with their proper names, using language from child’s home and school if different.

Goal 21: Children demonstrate awareness of family characteristics and functions

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Show affection (hugs and kisses) to familiar adults.
  • Address at least two family members by name.
  • Recognize immediate family members in photographs.

YOU CAN

  • Involve child in family traditions, rituals, and activities. Help child identify and name family members and their relationships.
  • Provide opportunities for child to spend time together with family.
  • Create a baby-proof family album the child can explore.

Goal 22: Children demonstrate awareness of their community, human interdependence, and social roles

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Recognize the names of other children.
  • Recognize family members of other children.
  • Begin to participate in simple parallel play with other children.

YOU CAN

  • Provide opportunities for child to play in diverse environments with other children (play group, park, friend’s home).
  • Read books about different types of occupations with child.
  • Read books with child about families in other communities, cultures, or countries.

Goal 23: Children demonstrate civic responsibility

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Follow simple directions.
  • Try out roles and relationships through imitation (smile at self in mirror, plays peek-a-boo).
  • Request assistance when needed.

YOU CAN

  • State rules in a manner that promotes positive thinking rather than negative thinking (“We use walking feet” instead of “No running.”).
  • Offer child easy-to-follow directions, starting with one step at a time.

Goal 24: Children demonstrate awareness and appreciation of their own and others’ cultures

MOBILE BABIES MAY

  • Look to caregivers for assistance, guidance, and safety.
  • Distinguish among familiar and unfamiliar people.

YOU CAN

  • Immerse child in his/her own culture as much as possible.
  • Share stories, songs, and poems about child’s own and other cultures.
  • Show caring and kindness for all people and treat others with respect and fairness.
  • Engage child in activities and interactions with many children.
  • Establish family traditions, rituals, and activities.