Social and Emotional Health

The social-emotional skills that a child acquires before age 5 - the capacity to control one's behavior, get along with peers, and ask for and accept help - are as important as academic skills in preparing a child for school.

Children who arrive at kindergarten able to sit still, follow directions, take turns, control their emotions, and use language to communicate their ideas and needs are more likely to thrive. Children who lack these social-emotional skills enter kindergarten already behind.

The Ounce of Prevention Fund works to ensure that early childhood programs incorporate strategies to ensure the healthy social-emotional development of children.

Illinois

The Ounce advocates for young children to receive periodic developmental, social, and emotional screens during regularly scheduled visits to a doctor.

The Ounce advocated for the passage of the Illinois Children's Mental Health Act in 2003. The Act established the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership, which works to incorporate mental health services for children ages 0-21 in the education system.



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