When we pay attention to the needs of young children, we can create environments where children thrive.
Social Emotional Well-Being
Healthy social, emotional and behavioral well-being is defined as a child’s developing capacity to:
• Form close, secure, meaningful relationships
• Experience, regulate and express emotions
• Explore the environment and learn new skills
Positive mental health influences children’s ability to learn, make sound decisions, and behave in positive and healthy ways. Children with high levels of social and emotional well-being are able to form connections with other people, better regulate their emotions, and develop positive coping mechanisms and resilience in the face of adversity—all of which help to serve them and their community as they develop into adulthood. Children’s development takes place within the caregiving environment around them. We can create places where children thrive.
Resources
Research, Articles, and Documents
Social-Emotional Development: Birth to 12 Months
Social-Emotional Development: 12 to 24 Months
Social-Emotional Development: 24 to 36 Months
Growing Up Well: Supporting Young Children's Social Emotional Development and Mental Health in North Carolina
Mental Health and Behavioral Supports for NC Pre-K Children
Getting to Great: The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Great Expectations Activation Plan
Child and Family Well-Being and Homelessness Integrating Research into Practice and Policy
Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool For Family Shelters
Catching Emotional and Developmental Problems in Homeless Children
Child Care Services Association: Be Well
Child Care Services Association: Mindfulness PowerPoint
Blog Posts
Even Kids Get the Holiday Blues
Tips on Promoting The Positive Mental Health of Kids
Building Stepping Stones to Childhood Mental Health
Videos
Play is More Than Just Fun
TED Talk: A pioneer in research on play, Dr. Stuart Brown says humor, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults -- and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.
Meet the Experts
Lucy Daniels Center
Children’s mental health is our priority at the Lucy Daniels Center, where we help children with emotional, mental and social challenges succeed through in-depth evaluation and treatment, family involvement and education.
ZERO TO THREE
ZERO TO THREE works to ensure that babies and toddlers benefit from the early connections that are critical to their well-being and development.
PNC Growing Up Great
We provide innovative opportunities that assist families, educators and community partners to enhance children's learning and development, particularly in underserved communities.
Center on the Developing Child
The mission of the Center on the Developing Child is to drive science-based innovation that achieves breakthrough outcomes for children facing adversity.
Child Care Services Association
Child Care Services Association (CCSA) works to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for all families through research, services and advocacy. We are an association of groups, individuals, and volunteers committed to supporting the right of young children and their families to have the best possible life. To do just that, CCSA provides free referral services to families seeking child care, financial assistance to families who cannot afford quality child care, technical assistance to child care businesses, and educational scholarships and salary supplements to child care professionals through the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® and Child Care WAGE$® Projects. CCSA licenses its successful programs to states across the country and provides consultation to others addressing child care concerns.