Socially competent children are happier than their less competent peers are (Morrison, 2011). Social competence is not a luxury since it makes a tremendous difference in terms of how children feel about themselves. Children growing in proper care and correct guidance in their childhood education are more successful in their interactions with others, popular and more at ease in life. The social relations of children and onwards in their entire lives have been linked to academic achievement, and positive social skills have been linked to greater success in school. This serves as an irrevocable illustration of the utmost importance of correct childhood education.
For any childhood practitioner, it is imperative to understand how children grow and develop across all developmental stages: emotional, physical, social, cognitive, play activities, as well as all the aesthetic domains. The core variant into a thriving childhood development relation is knowledge of the individual children coupled with knowledge of child growth and development. These aspects enable the practitioner to provide not only education but also care, which is developmentally appropriate for each child.
A personal attachment develops towards the teacher from the child, which differs for all the children. The practitioner should recognize the diversities exposed by the children and play along but in a directional manner where they provide correct information on the childhood theories. Childhood practitioners make many decisions, which have both long-term and short-term effects on children’s lives. They, therefore, need to understand the acknowledged standards for children’s development and learning hence, purpose to help the children achieve these desired outcomes. The standards of professionalism and the characteristics of childhood education remain the same, even though the early childhood education today is completely diverse unlike what it used to be years ago. The childhood educators advocate child centered education and approaches, which have ideas such as each child, can reach high achievement levels and that children are more capable of learning than people previously thought.
A positive relationship with one or more adults is essential for optimum growth and development (Morrison, 2011). According to Morrison, the adult-child associations promote a safe, early, development context where the children are opened up to receive information about what surrounds them. Positive early bonds in children help them experience more interactions that are affectionate. Positive relations are the foundation, which brings supportive environments, and when teaching and coaching is incorporated, it develops intensive, individualized interventions among children.
Another fundamental issue is educators helping children to progress from self-awareness to social understanding. The interaction of children with other people alongside their cognitive interpretations of these interactions contributes to each child’s understanding of who they are. Such knowledge forms part of a child’s overall social competence and social understanding. Alongside this, the educator should incorporate teaching aids in order to create supportive learning environments.
Childhood educators should be aware of all the factors revolving around children. Emotions are connected to everything children do and are prompted by the events happening around them with time. Children experience hundreds of diverse emotions daily; therefore, how well they express and understand other people’s emotions is a key element to their social competence. This is fundamental for child educators since they have to help the children understand other people’s emotions as well as understand how they should portray their own emotions to create a social balance.
Reference
Morrison, G. S. (2011). Fundamentals of early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson.