Socio-emotional development refers to the process through which individuals acquire the ability to understand, manage and express the social and emotional aspects of their lives and to create and sustain meaningful relationships with others.
Social skills encompass self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
Children learn primary and secondary emotions before the age of two. Emotions are tied to social skills through social emotion, referring to a set of behaviours, attitudes and values aiding in effectively navigating interpersonal and social situations.
Developmental milestones of social and emotional skills aid in understanding how socio-emotional skills develop during childhood.
Externalizing and internalizing behaviours depict typical developmental difficulties in socio-emotional development, while rejection and bullying challenge social interactions in the social context.
It is important to support socio-emotional skills in early childhood education contexts, but support should also extend to the home environment and take into consideration children’s individual characteristics.
Socio-emotional development
Socio-emotional development is defined as developing positive relationships with others, acquiring knowledge and being aware of and managing emotions (Ji et al., 2013; Zins et al., 2004). Chien (2022) defined socio-emotional development as a child’s ability to create and sustain meaningful relationships with adults and other children. It also involves acquiring and applying knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, feel and show empathy for others and establish and sustain positive relationships with others (Ji et al., 2013; Zins et al., 2004). Socio-emotional development refers to the process through which individuals acquire the ability to understand, manage and express the social and emotional aspects of their lives. It encompasses the development of skills necessary for forming healthy relationships, understanding and managing emotions and navigating social complexities, namely social skills and emotional skills.
Social skills
Social skills are essential for child development, as they help children interact with the world around them through relationship development, verbal communication and body language (Riley et al., 2008). Social skills are the abilities that enable individuals to interact effectively and harmoniously with others. These skills are critical for building and maintaining relationships, navigating social environments and achieving personal and professional success.
Importance of social skills in early childhood education
Various roles of social skills for children in early childhood education have been emphasized in a plethora of studies (e.g. Laser-Pulse, 2023; Pierce et al., 2021; Panayiotou, Humphrey, & Wigelsworth, 2019; Bridgeland, Bruce, & Hariharan, 2013; Riley et al., 2008). Children who possess strong social skills are better equipped to handle the complexities of social interactions and are more likely to experience positive social and emotional outcomes than children with poorer social skills. Strong social skills in early childhood education help children make friends, share with their classmates and cooperate in social environments. Social skills are closely linked to emotional development, as children also need to be aware of the feelings of themselves and others and of skills in emotion regulation to establish positive relationships.
Children with strong social skills can form lasting friendships and are more likely to succeed in their education. Social skills may also further lead to improved cognitive abilities and better mental health, school connectedness and mental health by boosting academic performance and preparing children for real-world situations. Children who lack social skills can face poor outcomes in child development. Poor social skills can hinder their ability to create relationships, affect their adjustment at school, lead to loneliness and cause behavioural problems in the future (see Subheading 7).
Social skills can be considered as building blocks – they include aspects such as initiating conversation, expressing emotions or resolving conflicts and are often taught and practiced in structured settings. To adapt the use of these skills and to respond in real-life social situations, children also need social competence, which includes not just skills but also the processes that are required in emotional understanding, perspective-taking and construction of relationships with peers and adults. Socially competent individuals can form successful and fulfilling peer interactions, which, in turn, serve as a protective factor against negative emotional experiences, such as bullying, rejection or exclusion (Repo & Repo, 2016).
Domains of social skills
Durlak et al. (2015) highlighted five essential social skills for ECEC children to enhance their social adjustment.
Self-awareness is a crucial skill that aids children in understanding their emotions, behaviours, values and strengths. For example, a child conveys difficulty with arithmetic by stating, ‘I feel frustrated because I can’t solve arithmetic problems.’
Self-management helps children regulate and control their emotions, behaviours, feelings and thoughts. This aspect of skills facilitates children’s ability to regulate emotions and behaviours. For example, a child responds calmly rather than with anger when another child takes his toy.
Social awareness involves understanding others’ emotions, recognizing diverse perspectives and empathizing with and showing compassion towards those from different backgrounds or cultures. For example, a child values diversity by understanding social and economic disparities.
Relationship skills help children establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships and act in accordance with social norms. For example, a child shares toys and collaborates with peers during playtime.
Responsible decision-making involves the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to make informed decisions about personal behaviours and social interactions in various settings. For example, children select a class leader based on capability rather than friendship.
Developmental milestones – Social skills
Human infants are hardwired for social interaction from birth – to connect with others and share feelings, thoughts and actions (Gerber et al., 2011). Since birth, babies show social skills in discriminating their mother’s sound from other caregivers and expressing their needs through crying. During the first 12 months of life, babies gradually become more and more oriented towards others – from establishing eye contact and responding to facial expressions to showing more deliberate intentions towards others. Children also become more able to maintain interactions with others around them for longer periods and interpret the emotional expressions of familiar adults, along with mimicking the simple actions of others.
At the age of 1–2 years, children gradually become more independent and continue to need a safe base for their explorations, provided by the primary caregivers. Children become increasingly curious towards others around them, especially the company of other children. Mimicking the expressions or activities of others serves as an avenue for engaging in social interactions.
Around the age of 2–3 years, children become increasingly aware of peers, and they start to first play alone, then gradually beside each other and finally by engaging in shared activities closer to the age of three. Children typically show aggressive behaviour with peers (e.g. hitting, biting or fighting over a toy) but at the same time they also express warm affection, engage in social laughter and invite others to play through smile.
At the age of 3–4 years, children begin to have the skills to play cooperatively, sharing toys and taking turns, which is at least partially related to children’s ability to distinguish right from wrong and display concern and empathy towards others. Engagement in shared activities becomes smoother due to an increase in frustration tolerance, but particularly closer to the age of three, children may show increased aggressive behaviour, most likely due to the fact that children spend more time in joint play than before. The development of language plays an integral role in the development of social skills.
By the age of 5–6 years, children usually play well with other children, usually preferring a peer(s) of the same gender. Children follow the shared aims in the play situation and are able to negotiate the rules, but assistance may be needed. This is why well-organized play situations increase collaboration among children. Children engage in games with simple rules but may continue to show inadequate coping skills when losing.
Upon reaching 7 years of age, children more actively shape their social networks by choosing friends. Friends become increasingly important, and similarity with friends is crucial. Playing co-operative games becomes smoother, and children get better at making up or negotiating their own rules. Coping with emotions caused by losing becomes easier, but children want to be first and best in many collaborative situations.
Emotional skills
Emotions are crucial for human wellbeing and learning (Izard, 2010), especially in early childhood, above all, for socialization (Are & Shaffer, 2016). In early childhood, emotions play an important role in communication by, for example, motivating children to engage in or withdraw from situations. Emotions are also pivotal in setting the boundaries for sensitivity towards others; this is why, for example, empathy and emotions develop hand in hand. Furthermore, emotional skills are related to moral reasoning through the development of cognitive skills. Cognitive development makes children more adept at moral reasoning, and this, in turn, is related to their emotional skills (Cosku & Coskun, 2019).
Primary emotions are joy, anger, sadness, astonishment, fear and disgust, and they develop during the first nine months of a child’s life (Lewis, 2010). Secondary emotions, such as love, pride and guilt, are related to the development of cognition and therefore appear somewhat later in a child’s development, usually around 18 months (Lewis, 2010). In the broader context of socio-emotional development, emotions can be tied to social skills through the concept of social emotion, which refers to skills, also known as life skills, representing a set of behaviours, attitudes and values to navigate interpersonal and social situations effectively (Jukes et al., 2021). These skills are emotional in nature because they involve identifying and regulating emotions and behaviours. They are social in nature because they are supposed to help each individual better interact with other individuals or groups of individuals (Osher et al., 2016).
Importance of emotional skills in early childhood education
Emotional skills are important in early childhood education. First, they form the foundation for learning. Children who can manage emotions (e.g. frustration or excitement) are better able to focus, follow directions and engage in classroom activities (Graziano et al., 2007; Harrington et al., 2020). In addition, emotional regulation supports cognitive development by allowing children to persist in problem-solving and task completion.
Second, emotional skills are key to social adjustment and relationships. Children who can navigate their emotions are able to form positive relationships with teachers and peers. These children can show empathy, cooperate with peers, share and handle conflicts constructively (Harrington et al., 2020).
Third, emotional skills are key in fostering behavioural self-control. Children who possess emotional awareness can control impulses and reduce aggression or withdrawal (Housman, 2017). In addition, when children have behavioural self-control, it is easier for teachers to guide them to use words instead of actions to express their feelings (Russell et al., 2016).
Fourth, emotional skills foster mental health and resilience. When children develop skills early, this protects them against anxiety, stress and behavioural disorders. This, in turn, promotes resilience and adaptability when children face challenges (Thümmler et al., 2022).
Fifth, emotional skills have been shown to facilitate school readiness and long-term success in children. Emotional intelligence is associated with later academic performance and life satisfaction. Children who learn to manage emotions early in life tend to show higher motivation, confidence and efficacy (Housman, 2017).
Developmental milestones – Emotional skills
Emotional skills relate to recognising, expressing and interpreting emotions, and they gradually develop from infancy to school age. Babies at the age of 0–1 years are able to interpret the emotions of others from facial expressions and associate emotional intent with specific objects (e.g. dummy is associated with joy).
At the age of 1–2 years, children become more active in producing different emotions, but reacting to the emotional states of others is still very typical, as differentiation of the self from others is still developing. This is why, among toddlers, when one child begins to cry, others often follow. Around the age of 18 months, empathy and envy develop.
Around the age of 2–3 years, children become more skilled in interpreting the intentions and emotions of others. Around the age of 30 months, pride and shame develop. Children demonstrate more and more active attempts to consolidate others and show expressions of empathy towards the feelings of others.
At the age of 3–4 years, children begin to express a broader variety of emotions, such as disappointment, longing and pride. They also interpret emotions from the facial expressions and intonation of others. Children are now able to hide their true emotions but are not yet able to cheat or mislead others with their own emotional expressions. Children feel guilty when caught doing something forbidden.
By the age of 5–6 years, children are able to identify and name emotions of fear, joy, anger and shyness. Children are able to use emotions in their favour, for example, cheat others by manipulating their own emotional expressions. The development of emotions relates strongly to the development of self-regulation skills; therefore, children are able to behave calmly on the outside, even if they are going through emotions. Upon reaching 7 years of age, children are also able to identify emotions such as pride, envy, gratitude, worry, guilt and anxiety.
Difficulties in socio-emotional development
This section discusses difficulties in socio-emotional development from the perspectives of the individual child’s developmental characteristics (developmental difficulties) and social networks (rejection and bullying).
Developmental difficulties
Difficulties in socio-emotional development usually refer to behaviours that are typical but become problematic due to being exceptionally strong, mild or repetitive (Briggs-Gowan et al., 2006). In the literature, difficulties in socio-emotional development are typically divided into four broader categories: externalizing behaviours, internalizing behaviours, dysregulation and atypical/maladaptive behaviours (e.g. Briggs-Gowan et al., 2006). In ECEC, socio-emotional difficulties challenge peer relationships and other social situations since children become easily misunderstood and labelled in the peer group.
Externalizing socio-emotional behaviours are typically the ones that teachers and parents easily observe and the ones they consider the most challenging in the given context. Externalizing behaviours refer to aggression, strong emotional bursts and behaviours that harm others. Overall, the concept of ‘acting out’ fairly accurately describes these behaviours.
Internalizing socio-emotional behaviours are characterized by a lack of contact seeking, inhibited or withdrawn behaviours, strong fears, extreme shyness or separation anxiety.
Dysregulation refers broadly to difficulties in regulating emotions, behaviour and cognition (e.g. Aro, 2011), which most often appear in the classroom as children’s inability to behave adaptively and flexibly in the social environment. Children may face challenges when changes or transitions appear in the environment or when they experience strong emotions that they cannot regulate. Finally, atypical/maladaptive behaviours characterize socio-emotional behaviours that seem out of place, for example, laughing while being scared, crying and laughing at the same time or expressing otherwise unexpected or illogical emotions when facing a challenging situation (Briggs-Gowan et al., 2016).
Drawing a line between typical and atypical behaviour may sometimes be challenging since in early childhood, many skills are still developing, and there are large individual differences, for example, in how children express emotions and regulate their behaviours. A solid understanding of the developmental and age-specific milestones of social and emotional development will aid in understanding whether a child’s development follows a typical pattern. It is also important to consider a child’s behaviour across different situations and in different contexts since what is being expected from the child may vary (e.g. at home and in ECEC or during free play or more formal instruction). To aid in identifying socio-emotional difficulties, specific ‘red flags’ have been proposed (e.g. Gerber et al., 2011; Pihlaja & Viitala, 2022). These are typically lists of age-specific developmental and behavioural examples, either expressed as the presence or lack of a pivotal behaviour or developmental aspects that indicate a need to pay closer attention to the child’s socio-emotional development.
The child’s typical development or behaviour regresses, and the symptoms continue for several months.
The child has difficulty understanding others’ emotions, and they seem to receive satisfaction from the distress of others.
The child lacks the ability to play.
The child’s behaviour causes other children to avoid them.
The child has atypical and strong fears (e.g. fear of getting hurt in daily situation).
The child expresses anxiety related to their own behaviour or emotions.
The child seems to be disoriented from their current environment and daily situations.
Rejection and bullying
Rejection is a form of social exclusion. A child’s acceptance by peers strongly predicts their involvement in the preschool group and the progress of their academic skills (Ladd et al., 1997). Being rejected predicts, among other things, negative attitudes towards school and poor performance (Buhs & Ladd, 2001; Parker & Asher, 1987). Rejection has often been found to be persistent, which is associated with lower involvement compared to temporary rejection.
Bullying is a globally recognized phenomenon that is known to challenge children’s wellbeing but also hamper learning and development (Copeland et al., 2014). Bullying is also a persistent phenomenon that challenges children’s wellbeing in group-based educational contexts across cultures (Smith, Pepler, & Rigby, 2004). Bullying can be identified among children as young as toddlers. The most common traits associated with bullying are intentionality, power imbalance, repetitiveness and harm (O’Keeffe et al., 2025; Volk et al., 2014). Among the youngest children, however, the aspect of intentionality is somewhat challenging since the ability to feel empathy and moral development follows individual patterns. Therefore, the intentionality of bullying among young children may be better understood through observing the duration and repetitiveness of their actions (Repo & Repo, 2016). It is important to bear in mind that although aggression, violence, conflicts and disputes are often related to bullying, they have different developmental characteristics (O’Keeffe et al., 2025). Discriminatory bullying is typically defined as abuse and victimization linked to disability, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation and religion (Elamé, 2013), while stigma-based bullying is driven by distinct stigma-related factors (e.g. social dominance orientation, stereotypes, prejudice) (Earnshaw et al., 2018).
Strategies for supporting socio-emotional skills among ECEC children
Teachers should incorporate social skills into their teaching practices and regular assessments (e.g. using teacher ratings, sociograms and child self-ratings for objectivity). In practice, teachers can spend time observing children in their classrooms across different activities and group constellations to gain an understanding of their social skills and emerging social relationships in the group.
Daily interactions and lessons on identifying and expressing emotions can help ECEC children develop social and emotional skills, for example, using emotion cards/pictures or emotion scales to assist children in identifying their own emotions or teaching children concrete ways of behaving in moments when they feel angry or frustrated (not using fists but words).
Consistent expressions of affection and warmth towards children can help boost children’s emotional wellbeing and feelings of safety and belonging in the classroom. This can also go hand in hand with teaching children how to treat others kindly.
Modelling and reinforcing desirable behaviours while discouraging undesirable behaviours has been shown to be an effective way of increasing children’s socio-emotional competencies (e.g. Heiskanen et al., 2022). Children learn by observing the behaviours of adults and imitating others, and consistent modelling and encouragement of desirable behaviours can help others copy these behaviours, including empathy. In particular, with infants and toddlers, it is crucial that the teacher remains in close proximity with the children and aids in verbalizing children’s emerging social expressions and expected behaviours through language, gestures or pictures.
Using diverse stories and allowing children to participate in discussions can aid them in developing social and emotional skills, such as sharing and conflict resolution.
Create a collaborative learning environment to promote cooperative learning, which is essential for developing social skills, such as cooperation and interactions; for example, forming groups in a way that children are not always working with the same peers and assigning children with tasks that can only be completed as a team.
Use different plays and games to foster a sense of togetherness among children, which is crucial for their social and emotional development.
Verbalise emotions. Explain to children how you feel and what kinds of emotions you go through. Help children identify and verbalize their own emotions, for example, provide children with opportunities to express their emotions with a ‘feeling scale’ during circle time and increase awareness of others’ emotions in a group. While engaging in activities with children, instruct them to tell how they feel in given situations.
Particularly regarding emotional skills, it should be kept in mind that children’s emotional expressions are intensive and strong from time to time and still fall into the range of typical development. When encountering strong emotional reactions, it is important that the adult remain calm and patiently focus on co-regulating the emotions together with the child.
Supporting socio-emotional development is a shared responsibility of the environments surrounding the child. The role of a safe home environment for socio-emotional development has been recognized, highlighting the importance of parents and other close relatives in supporting the healthy socio-emotional development of the child. Finally, the children themselves have several individual characteristics that may increase their socio-emotional skills, such as good language skills, positive self-concept, good friends and resilience when encountering challenges.
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