ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Social emotional development

Social emotional development is all about learning how to recognize, express and manage your emotions. It also involves understanding how to empathize and interact with others.

For example, as babies and young children, they learn how to smile, wave and say "hi" when they meet someone. As they get older, they learn how to recognize and express their emotions like feeling happy, sad, angry and scared. They also learn how to build relationships and to show empathy towards others.

It's very important for kids to develop strong social emotional skills because these skills will help them in their future friendships, relationships and jobs. Social emotional development helps kids learn how to have healthy relationships and effectively solve problems. It's also important for kids to learn how to self-regulate their emotions. This means learning how to manage their emotions in positive ways and to not act out when they're feeling angry or frustrated.