An Activity-Based Approach to Developing Young Children's Social Emotional Competence

This book describes how to implement social-emotional interventions with young children (birth to age 5) in their daily environments. The target audience is professionals who are working with families who are not providing ideal environments for their children, such as those families living in extreme poverty and those who are experiencing mental health problems or substance abuse. Another target audience is early interventionists who are working with children who have an identified disability or who have experienced some biological risk (i.e., low birth weight, in utero exposure to drugs or alcohol). As well as learning about screening and assessment, readers of this book will learn to pick up on cues that show that the children in their care might have social-emotional difficulties. The interventions described can be put to use during daily routines such as meal time and bath time. The activities target ten key mental health concepts: healthy social interactions, expression of a range of emotions, regulation of responses, empathy, attention and engagement, independence, self-image, regulation of attention and activity level, compliance with simple requests, and adaptive skills.