EarlyEd Insights

HOW LITTLE FEAT CAN TAKE ON A BIG FEAT   Teaching young kids about emotions and talking to them about how they feel is extremely vital for their future success. It underpins their happiness and their social and emotional well-being as they learn to not only recognize and understand different emotions but also to label them and consequently deal with them in an appropriate manner. Peter Salovey and John Mayer have defined emotional intelligence as "the ability to monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior". It has been reported by Daniel Goleman that it is emotional intelligence (EI) rather than intelligence quotient (IQ) which is responsible for the future success, happiness, and general life satisfaction of a majority of children. Emotional competencies are not innate talents but rather learned capabilities that must be...

            SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN “Through others we become ourselves” – Lev S. Vygotsky Social development tends to take a backseat when parents talk about the overall development of their children. They are more concerned about their children’s physical, speech and language development and of course, their academic accomplishments. However, parents tend to ignore social development – a vital piece that underpins the holistic development of a child’s personality. Children learn and discover many aspects about themselves when they interact with people around them. In the process, they make friends; learn about the differences that exist between individuals, and exchange views and opinions. They learn compassion, empathy and become emotionally intelligent. They learn to take turns, share personal belongings, indulge in cooperative play and reach amicable solutions to disputes and disagreements. They become more independent, less selfish,...

FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIP Anyone can be a father, but being a dad takes a lifetime. The child’s idol: The child idolizes his father in everything he does. The father is the ultimate man in the world. Research on father-child influence shows that: 1.     Fathers are more rigid, threatening and demanding than mothers. 2.     Fathers use more disciplinary actions to punish than mothers. 3.     Children who are frequently punished and reprimanded by their fathers, experience personal problems and difficultly in school. 4.     Fathers, who are to controlling, rigid, use physical punishment as a form of discipline, their boys become delinquent. 5.     Unresponsive, unloving and uncommunicative fathers produce dependent, reticent, depressed and dejected children with low self-esteem. A defining factor of a child’s relationships: A child’s relationship...

             SHOW AUTHORITY WITHOUT BEING AUTHORITARIAN      Misbehavior is part of being a 3 year old. He is curious, learning and developing with every passing day. His little brain is still struggling to make sense of the world around him and the rules and standards of acceptable behavior. He is not able to understand the rationale behind the rules set by you. He may not have the needed words to communicate his likes, dislikes or desires vocally. Hence, he employs unsafe and challenging behavior to express his feelings. These behaviors are distressing and frustrating for everyone involved and moreover it makes learning, relationships and play difficult for the child.     Anger spells, tantrums, aggressive behavior, short outbursts are pretty common in many 3 year olds. But it is important to know when things have crossed the red line. Look for these signs to know if your child is crossing the red line: · ...

  BEING MEAN AND SELFISH – NOT REALLY!     Young preschoolers always seem to be getting into a tiff with other children. They’re always concerned about themselves, thinking about their interests and never seem to listen to others. Are they self-centered or self-indulgent and wrapped up in their own selves?    Young children aren't able to see different perspectives, sympathize with others and reason. This inability is termed as EGOCENTRISM. It’s all about “I, ME and MYSELF” for these little ones. This doesn’t mean that they are selfish or self-obsessed. This is simply the way they see the world around them and assume that the others see what they see, hear and feel exactly the same as they do.   When dealing with young children, it is imperative that we as adults consider the various stages of development in a preschool child’s life. Is your child going through this stage of development? Let’s find out:   When playing hide-and-seek with ...