Chapter 15: Emotional and Social Development F rom Four to Six

1. Chapter 15: Emotional and Social Development From Four to Six NK

2. Emotional Development

3. Emotional Patterns Four Years • Four year olds are intent on asserting independence, stubborn, self-centered, impatient, defiantand boastful. Four-year-olds can also be unusually lovingand affectionate. They feel the need to seek parental approval. They like their independence so at this age they can wash and dress themselves. They are very proud of their accomplishments, abilities, creationsand possessions.  

4. Emotional Patterns • More often than not they will deny responsibilityfor their actions and mistakes and let their imaginations go by telling creative stories. Their opinion become very important as well, some four-year-old goes through a "bratty" stage. At this point they have trouble separating fantasyfrom factand are sensitive when people laugh at their mistakes.

5. Emotional Patterns Five Years • Five-year-olds enter a quieter period of emotional development. They are generally rather practical, sympatheticand serious. Because their attention span is longer they are able to complete tasks much easier and are becoming increasingly more realistic. They ask meaningful question and obey rules with less questions. They are easier to handle because they like having adult supervision, accept instructionand ask permission. Any criticism from adults is hard for them to take because of their patient, generousdemeanor.

6. Emotional Patterns Six Years • Like four-year-olds, six-year-olds are stubbornand quarrelsome. They resent any form of direction and in their mind they "know everything". They are the center of their own universe and are very content there. Their moods change rapidly and often clash with other emotions. Six is a difficult age for children as most of them are starting school full-time. They are faced with developing a status outside of the home. This a time where they want to feel grown up, but usually feel smalland dependent. They crave praiseand approval, and are easily hurt when put under criticism.

7. Specific Emotions Anger • Anger is a more distinctemotion than any other, and children often don’t know how to control their expression of it. At age four children engage in physical fights, and their anger lasts longer. At age five children aim to hurt each other's feelingsrather than physically harm them. At age six children use teasing, insultingand making funof others.

8. Specific Emotions • The frequency of anger declines during age's four to six. However, the effects of anger are longer lasting. Tolerance and frustration generally increase as they get older. Sources of earlier frustration eliminate as a child's motor skillsimprove. Children also gain a better understanding of people's property and rights, which makes it easier for them to work in groups. Children learn to accept personalities of people and the most common cause of anger at age's four to six is disagreements with other children. The amount of anger shown varies on the child.

9. Specific Emotions Fear • Children from four to six have well developed imaginations, and many of their fears are imaginary (Ghosts, vampires, kidnappers, robbers). Children that are sensitive or insecure are more prone to fears. This is the age group that children are most likely to be afraid of the dark, which corresponds with the fear of being left alone or abandoned.  

10. Specific Emotions • Many of this age group fear school because they don’t like being without their parents security, are afraid of bullies, stern teachers or "hard" work. Taking your child to class rather than dropping them off at the front of the school helps with this.

11. Special fears arise frequently at this age. Social acceptance is very important, and the thought of losing it makes kids anxious. Ridicule is another special fear that children acquire, but they don’t want to show their fears because they don’t want to be ridiculed (many act aggressively, pretend indifference, or try to distract him/herself). It is important not to tell children that their fears don’t exist because they are very real to them and they won't go away on their own. Children have to deal withand overcome them or the fears may lead to emotional problems later on in their lives.

12. Specific Emotions Jealousy and Siblings • Sibling rivalryis common at this age and parents often, without meaning to, make it worse by showing favoritism, or comparing children. Jealousy takes form in tattling, criticizingand even lying. Some children use boastingwhile others pretend that there is no rivalry. Sibling rivalry and jealousy may result in tensional outletssuch as nail biting, bed-wetting and tantrums.

13. Specific Emotions Children and Stress • Since stress among adults is a well-recognized problem many usually don’t see that children lead stressful lives as well. Many worry about popularity, grades, siblingovershadowingthem and other things that are easily overlooked by adults. Stress may lead to physical symptoms like stomachaches, headaches, moodiness and trouble eating or sleeping. Hugs help, so does listeningcarefully, showing acceptance, using a relaxed manner, and building their self-confidence.

14. Competition- Good or Bad? Many people have different views on the topic of competition:

15. Competition- Good or Bad? • An example of that would be a father signing his son up for baseball and pressuring him to win just because he was a good player when he was the same age. This would be bad for the child if they were bad or mediocre at the sport. • Non supporters of competition believe that since there are more "losers" than "winners", competition can lower children's self-esteem(positive sense of self-worth). Competition can come from parents based on their own desires or experiences.

16. Competition- Good or Bad? • Competitiveness, often spurred by sibling rivalry, is likely to show up at home. Children react differently. "Winners" may think of themselves as superiorwhile "losers" may develop harsh, unpleasant attitudes. Many find competition a stimulating challenge with no negative effects, but children are fragile and don’t always understand that.

17. Personality and Behavior • By the age of four many behavior patterns(Characteristics they will have as adults) are set. At any age positiveand negativechanges in personality can occur. The environmentplays a key role on personality development since children tend to live up to, or down to, the ideas of other people. Guidance from adults is important and each child should be treated as an individual.

18. Social Development

19. General Social Patterns • Social skill development is a major task. As children grow older and go new places he or she has to learn to get along his peers (other people of one's own age). Four Years • At four years children start making friendships with playmates and spend more time in cooperative playrather than playing alone. They develop more generous characteristicsand demonstrate them by sharing toys and taking turns. Despite those developments they are still bossyand inconsiderateand fighting is common.

20. General Social Patterns Five Years • At age five children are more outgoingand talkativeand play best in larger groups of five or six. Fighting is less frequent and they have more respectfor others belongings. Socialacceptancebecomes an issue that is important to children because they don't want to be different.

21. General Social Patterns Six Years • At six years social relations are often characterized by friction, aggression, threats, and stubbornness. They feel that things should be "their way or the highway" and they become more possessiveof things and don’t like sharing. They become jealousof other children and often more competitive.

22. Family Relationships • In preschool and early elementary children use their previousknowledge to work in social situations outside of their home. Four-year-olds have a strong sense of family and home and want to feel important. They are proud to do house chores, and they bicker with siblings to get attention. Five-year-olds are similar to four-year-olds and are proud of their parents, love helping, and play better with siblings. Six-year-olds are less in harmony with their family because they are more self-centered. Because of this arguing with parents is frequent. Throughout all the years family continues to be important to every child, but as they grow and go to school peers, teachers, and other non-family influences become important to them too.

23. Moral Development

24. Moral Development • Moral Developmentis the process of gradually learning to base one's behavior on personal beliefs of right or wrong. • Toddlers begin to learn the rules parents have set, but can't understand the reasons behind the rules. At ages five to seven children begin to develop a conscience. Children begin to know the difference between truthand lies, and follow rules for fear of being punished, not for their own personal beliefs about right and wrong.

25. Moral Development Guidelines Most parents take responsibilities for the moral development of their children. It can be hard to teach them right for wrong. Some guidelines are: • Consider the child's age and abilities • Remember that parents and caregivers teach best by showing example • Understand that the process of learning to monitor one's behavior is a lifelong task. • Don't withhold love in response to misbehavior.

26. Bibliography Emotional Development. Richard A. Fabes, Cynthia A. Frosch, and Amy Buchanan. Child Development. Ed. Neil J. Salkind.  New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. p132-137. Word Count: 3190.When you're drawing up your list of life's miracles, you might place near the top the first moment your baby smiles at you …Today, she looked right at me. And she smiled …Her toothless mouth opened, and she scrunched her  From Gale Virtual Reference Library. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=23mbss&resultListType=RELATED_DOCUMENT&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&contentSegment=&docId=GALE|CX3401000106#132 Brisbane, Holly E.. The developing child: understanding children and parenting ; teacher's manual. Teacher's wraparound ed., 5th ed. Mission Hills, Calif.: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Pub. Co., 1990. Print. "Dealing With Feelings ." KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/index.html