Core Competencies of Emotional Development

"When a family entrusts their child to us, we take on the rewarding, challenging, and complex task of sharing with them the role of supporting their child's emotional development." So write Kay M. Albrecht, Jennifer C. Fiechtner, and Margaret Banks in their November/December 2016 Exchange magazine article, "Administrative Practices that Support Children’s Emotional Development." The authors quote a Harvard study that outlines core emotional competencies that all children need to develop:

"Mounting research from neuroscience and psychology tells us that there is a set of underlying core capabilities that adults use to manage life, work, and parenting effectively. These include, but are not limited to: planning, focus, self-control, awareness, and flexibility...We are not born with these skills, but we are born with the capacity to develop them through the right experiences and practice. The foundation is built in early childhood: By age 3, most children are already using executive function skills in simple ways (e.g. remembering and following simple rules). Ages 3–5 show a remarkable burst of improvement in the proficiency of these skills."

A recently recorded webinar from Kay Albrecht sheds more light on ways to support children’s healthy emotional development. Listen here.  

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