North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Emotional and Social Development (ESD)

Subdomain: Developing a Sense of Self with Others

Goal: Children demonstrate the social and behavioral skills needed to successfully participate in groups.

Skill Progression: Behavioral regulation

Age: 24-27 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 24-27 Months.

Shows remorse

Situations for Observation of Skill

Watch the toddler during daily routines and play activities.

Elicitation Strategy

If no natural opportunity arises, the adult can simulate something negative occurring (e.g., the child knocks down your tower of blocks and you act upset.)

Behavior Observed

The child realizes she has exceeded her boundary and shows remorse by hanging her head. May say, “Sorry.”

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

When the child shows remorse adults should acknowledge that they appreciate the child’s feelings. Don’t force the child to say, “I’m sorry.” This will be parroting rather than true feelings. It is important for the child to truly feel remorse. The adult can point out or have the offended child express how she feels.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.