Social and emotional development
• Encourage non-competitive games, particularly toward the beginning of middle childhood, and help children set individual goals.
• Give children lots of positive attention and let them help define the rules.
• Talk about self-control and making good decisions. Talk about why it is important to be patient, share, and respect others’ rights. Adults must pick battles carefully so there is limited nagging and maximized respect while children build confidence in their ability to make decisions.
• Teach them to learn from criticism. Ask “how could you do that differently next time?”
• Always be alert to the feelings associated with what children tell you.
• Give children positive feedback for successes.