ABSTRACT
From ages 3–6, children develop and make progress in a number of skills—e.g., perspective-taking, emotion-regulation strategies, executive functions. With language development, children increasingly engage in joint planning and activities. Teachers also become attachment figures. Both parents and teachers influence skill development across time. A number of variables influence skill development as well (e.g., SES, sibling numbers, personality traits). A number of skills show important progress during ages 4–5 (e.g., autobiographical memory, planning, forms of humor). A child’s early executive function skills have been related to school readiness and self-regulation as well as to levels of problem behaviors, sometimes later (e.g., school age). Effortful control has more than one aspect (e.g., cognitive and behavioral). Its development and a child’s developing control strategies are important to many aspects of functioning—e.g., social, behavioral. Gains in this period are important to self-, other-, and emotion-awareness. Each of these skills are also important to social relating and to productivity. With some cultural variations, the self-conscious emotions (e.g., shame, guilt) appear in toddlers and preschoolers as well as older children. Guilt may relate to a desire to make repair, while shame has been related to problems such as depression. Case examples are provided.
