Welcome to Reaching for New Horizons!!!!!

This blog was created to share my experiences as I journeyed toward my then Master of Arts degree to my now doctoral degree in Early Childhood. Feel free to share your great experiences in this great field.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Supporting children's positive emotional development...


In the early childhood class I teach for a technical college, my student's had the assignment to present mock parent-teacher conferences. To make the presentations interesting, the teachers had to include a social issue the family may be experiencing. The students were very creative in their scenarios.  One presentation focused on a grandparent raising a child, another focused on a single parent not interested in her child's progress in school, another focused on a family with a new baby and the parents are in the process on divorce proceedings, and the final presentation focused on a divorce couple with one of the parent's now being involved in a same sex relationship.
 
After all of the presentations had been completed, we discuss the effects on the children.  The one stand out topic was social emotional development. Children involved in the various scenarios can have lasting negative effects on their social emotion development.  This can occur through neglect due to parents dealing with their own emotional issues or for the grandparent that is raising a young child in a different era.  We discussed resources that would be needed to support families when they are experiences various social issues that would support healthy growth and development for children.
 
It is so important for education programs to include social emotional development as a part of the daily curriculum to support children's growth and development.  By laying this foundation at early learning levels and partnering with families, children have greater potential for future success in learning and their adult lives.
 
Reference:
 
Haiman, P. (2013). Protecting a child's emotional development when parent's separate or divorce. Retrieved from http://www.peterhaiman.com/articles/protecting-a-childs-emotional-development-when-parents-divorce.shtml
 
 
Zero to Three. (2013). On your lap, In your heart. Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/grandparents/