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Infants and toddlers begin to learn about themselves at birth and develop a sense of self through their experiences, culture, and relationships with important adults. This lesson provides an introduction to the concept of sense of self, how it is developed in infants through adults, and how you can support a positive sense of self in infants and toddlers.

Infants and toddlers need ongoing opportunities to feel cared for and to experience and celebrate success with newly mastered skills. This lesson will further describe what sense of self means for infants and toddlers and identify different ways adults can help promote sense of self for young children.

The environment consists of the space in which children learn as well as the people in that space—their peers and caregivers. Infant and toddler caregivers help establish environments and determine what infants, toddlers, and families will experience within a care setting. This lesson will focus on how the environment influences children’s sense of self and will describe how you can create environments that engage children in meaningful experiences that promote development.

The thinking of infants and toddlers changes as they grow older and begin to develop an understanding of themselves in relationship to, and separate from, others. This lesson will focus on how experiences and activities influence an infant’s or toddler’s developing sense of self.