Social Development of Children between 2- 6 Years of Age

Social Development of Children between 2- 6 Years of Age
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Social Development of Children between 2- 6 Years of Age
Introduction
Social development is the process through which people gain skills and abilities to relate and interact with others in the society. Through successful development, people become socially competent to adapt to new social settings as well as adopting perspectives of others in varied situations. They are able to learn from experiences in the past and apply such skills in the ever changing interactions (Sokol, 2009). Social development begins during childhood which is the most sensitive stage. Children who undergo successful development would have good interactions in later life while those who do not gain good skills most often experience socializing difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to discuss social development of children aged between two and six years by examining psychosocial, self-concept and formation of friendships among preschoolers.
Psychosocial Development
Psychosocial development describes formation of ways through which children express emotions. Children between the age of 2 and 6 develop vast skills that tend to demonstrate independence. This is demonstrated through egocentric behaviors and reduced dependence on parents. Also, the children are more initiative and develop new tasks and activities by their own. They portray a high desire to explore the world through individual efforts. At this stage, they need motivation and encouraging comments on their actions. Whenever they fail, a guilty feeling develops in them that could be worsened through criticisms. This would have negative implication since some children are highly likely to develop bad perceptions about themselves and other people since their emotional feelings are adversely affected (Sokol, 2009). On the other hand, children who complete this stage successfully would have a high feeling of security and confidence and would have good social interactions.
Self-Concept in the Preschool Years
Self-concept describes the ideas children develop about themselves in terms abilities as well as traits. At this age, children usually have positive conception about themselves. Generally, self-concept concerns two perspectives: the idea from ones perception and that from perception of others. Own perspectives is concerned with aspects such as desires, needs, and emotional responses towards stimulation by others (Seefeldt, 2010). Perception by others comprise of aspects through which the child would be described. Several factors influence self-concept of children and include: self-esteem, body size, gender, physical looks, and personality (mc.edu. n,d.). During this stage, children also form abilities of high concentration that is important to develop social competence. In addition, they develop strong...