Sending America's Children to School With the Social and Emotional Competence They Need to Succeed 

A monograph prepared by Robin Peth-Pierce, M.P.A., based on two papers commissioned by The Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network

September 6, 2000

The Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network

Executive Summary

Many parents worry as their children step on the bus for the first day of kindergarten, a day that marks their transition from home to school. And often, so do the children. Learning to be apart from their families is one of the toughest tasks of young children's lives. But if a child is socially and emotionally ready for school, this transition, as well as the early years of school, is more likely to be successful. Learning in school involves a series of social interactions with adults and other children. To be ready to learn, children must have built a solid social and emotional foundation. A child who is socially and emotionally ready for school and thus ready to learn has many, though not all, of the following characteristics: he or she is confident, friendly, has developed or will be able to develop good relationships with peers, and is able to concentrate on and persist at challenging tasks. The child must also be able to effectively communicate frustrations, anger, and joy and must be able to listen to instructions and be attentive.

How do children "become" socially and emotionally ready for school? Social and emotional competence is rooted in the relationships that infants and toddlers experience in the early years of their life. During the first year, their major social and emotional milestone is the development of a secure attachment with their mother, father, or other primary caregiver. At age 2, they learn to master the concepts of self-awareness, independence, and self-control. Children who do not achieve these age-appropriate social and emotional milestones face a far greater risk for early school failure. For example, children who have not formed secure attachments to a parent(s) or primary caregiver during their first year of life are less likely to be socially and emotionally competent during their second year of life. Children who master these social and emotional milestones during the infancy, toddler and preschool years are more likely to make a successful transition to school.