Promoting Social-Emotional Health in Early Childhood

The early years of life are a critical time of growth and vulnerability. From birth to 5 years of age, children are developing the capacity to form close relationships, manage and express emotions and explore and learn from their environment. Intervening early in a child’s life is a powerful form of prevention of later emotional & behavioral challenges. Members of the pediatric primary care team have distinct and important roles in providing screening, assessment, medical care, and intervention to reduce inequities in school readiness by enhancing children’s socioemotional development.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to…

• To provide tools PCPs can use to help parents understand social-emotional growth in their child
• To provide skills for PCPs to identify early red flags in social communications
• To assess and manage externalizing behaviors in young children