22 Social-Emotional Development & Guidance Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A 4-month-old in a busy infant room cries whenever she is put down. A colleague says that picking her up every time will spoil her. What should the caregiver do, and why?

   • A.Pick her up only at feeding and diapering times, so that crying does not become her way of getting an adult's attention.
   • B.Wait a set number of minutes before going to her, because a baby this age needs practice settling herself down alone.
   • C.Respond promptly and consistently to her cries, because reliable comfort is how an infant learns that adults can be counted on.✓ Answer
   • D.Hand her a toy from across the room each time, so that she learns to calm herself without being carried by an adult.

   Prompt, consistent responses are the mechanism by which an infant forms a secure attachment and the basic sense of trust that the first stage of social-emotional development rests on. A baby this age cannot soothe herself reliably and is not capable of manipulating adults, so answering her cries builds confidence in adults rather than dependence.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self); CDA Subject Area 8 (principles of child development) — attachment and trustReport a problem with this question

2. 2. An infant program gives each baby one primary caregiver who handles most of her daily routines and who stays with her group as the babies move up. What is the main reason programs are organized this way?

   • A.A familiar adult who knows the baby's cues can read and answer them quickly, and that is how a secure relationship grows.✓ Answer
   • B.Having the baby attach to a single adult means the other adults in the room do not need to take part in her daily care.
   • C.Spreading each baby evenly among all the adults on the shift keeps any one caregiver from being worn down by the same routines.
   • D.One adult handling feeding and diapering cuts down how often families need to talk with staff, since one person reports at pickup.

   Primary caregiving and continuity of care work because one adult comes to know an individual baby's signals well enough to respond accurately and quickly, and contingent responding is what builds secure attachment. It does not shut other adults out; the baby uses the primary relationship as a base for relating to the rest of the team.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self); CDA Subject Area 8 — primary caregiving, continuity of care and secure attachmentReport a problem with this question

3. 3. A mother tells the caregiver that her 2-year-old cries so hard at drop-off that she has started slipping out while he is distracted. What should the caregiver suggest?

   • A.Tell him that he is a big boy now and that big boys do not cry when their mothers go off to work in the morning.
   • B.Stay in the room until he is completely calm and playing, so that he never has to feel upset about his mother leaving.
   • C.Say goodbye the same short way every morning — a hug and a wave at the window — so he learns that partings are honest.✓ Answer
   • D.Keep leaving without a goodbye until the crying stops, since he usually settles within a few minutes after she is gone.

   A predictable goodbye ritual gives the child information he can rely on, so he can protest, be comforted and then re-engage. Slipping away teaches him that his adult may vanish without warning, which usually makes him cling harder and watch the door instead of playing.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self); separation and reunion practice in early care settingsReport a problem with this question

4. 4. A toddler plays happily all day, but when his father arrives at pickup the boy bursts into tears and pushes him away. The father worries that the day went badly. What is the best response?

   • A.Agree that the day likely went badly for him, and suggest expecting less of him tomorrow so he is not upset again.
   • B.Explain that children often release held-in feelings once their trusted adult returns, and give the two of them time.✓ Answer
   • C.Agree that he is paying his father back for leaving, and suggest telling him firmly that crying will not be rewarded.
   • D.Explain that he has grown more attached to the staff than to his father, and suggest that his father play alongside the staff first.

   Reunion behavior is a normal part of attachment: a child holds himself together during the day and lets the feelings out with the person he trusts most, so an intense reunion signals a strong bond rather than a bad day. The adult's job is to explain this to the family and allow an unhurried reunion.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self); CDA Subject Area 8 — attachment, separation and reunion behaviorReport a problem with this question

5. 5. A 2-year-old answers “No!” to nearly every request, even ones he then happily carries out. What does this most likely mean, and how should the adult respond?

   • A.He is discovering that he is his own person; give him as many real, safe choices as the routine allows.✓ Answer
   • B.He is deciding who is in charge; hold firm on every single request so he learns that an adult's word settles it.
   • C.He has found that the word gets a reaction; ignore whatever he says until he asks in a pleasant voice.
   • D.He is not suited to group care; cut down on requests by letting him run the whole routine the way he likes.

   Refusal at this stage is the outward sign of a child working on autonomy — testing that he is separate and can influence what happens to him. Offering genuine, limited choices meets that drive inside safe limits, while winning every argument or handing over all control both leave the underlying need unmet.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self: promoting growing autonomy); Erikson, autonomy vs. shame and doubtReport a problem with this question

6. 6. A family asks the program when toilet learning should begin for their 2-year-old. What should guide that decision?

   • A.Her second birthday, because following a published chart of usual ages treats every child in the group the same way.
   • B.The point when most of her friends in the room are trained, since children this age learn fastest by copying playmates.
   • C.The date on which she moves up to the next classroom, since the older group's routine is built around using the toilet.
   • D.The readiness signs the child herself shows, such as staying dry longer and taking interest, talked over with the family.✓ Answer

   Toilet learning is a self-help skill that depends on the individual child's physical and emotional readiness, not on a date, a room change or what peers are doing, and the program plans it together with the family so home and program match. Starting on an adult timetable turns a skill the child is mastering into a conflict she can only lose.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self: developmentally appropriate, positive toileting); respect for family preferencesReport a problem with this question

7. 7. A 4-year-old works twenty minutes on a tall, carefully balanced block tower and then looks up at the teacher. Which comment best supports his sense of competence?

   • A.“I like the way you did that; you are such a good boy for playing so quietly today.”
   • B.“You worked on that a long time, and you balanced those long blocks right across the top.”✓ Answer
   • C.“Good job! That is the finest tower that anyone has built in this room all week long.”
   • D.“You are so smart — I have never seen a child your age put a tower together like that.”

   Encouragement that describes the child's effort and the specific thing he did gives him information he can use again and locates the satisfaction in his own work. Global praise about being smart, best or good ties his worth to the adult's verdict and to comparison with other children, which makes him less willing to attempt hard things.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self) — encouragement and experiencing successReport a problem with this question

8. 8. A 3-year-old carries over a painting of swirled colors with no recognizable shapes in it. What is the best way for the teacher to respond?

   • A.Ask her what it is meant to be, so that she gets practice explaining her own ideas to an interested adult.
   • B.Suggest that she add a sun and some grass, so the picture will look finished when it goes home to her family.
   • C.Describe what is there, the wide blue lines and the circles, and ask whether she would like to tell about her picture.✓ Answer
   • D.Tell her it is beautiful and hang it with the best paintings on the wall above the shelf where families look.

   Describing what is actually on the paper and inviting the child to talk treats her work as hers and keeps the judgment out of the adult's hands. Asking what it is implies the picture should have been something recognizable, suggesting additions tells her the work was not good enough, and singling out the best paintings sets children against one another.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self) — respecting each child's work and individualityReport a problem with this question

9. 9. A 4-year-old is furious that another child took the wagon he was using, and he hits him. What should the teacher say?

   • A.“You are angry that he took the wagon. It is all right to be angry; it is not all right to hit.”✓ Answer
   • B.“You are fine — big kids do not cry over a wagon. Go on and find something else to play with.”
   • C.“We do not hit in this room. Sit in that chair until you are ready to come back and be friendly.”
   • D.“If you hit your friends again you will stay inside with me while the rest of us go out to play.”

   Emotion coaching separates the feeling from the action: the feeling is named and accepted, and the limit is placed only on what the child did with it. Telling a child he is fine denies what he plainly feels, and a chair or a lost privilege stops the behavior for the moment without giving him any words for the next time it happens.

   Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — helping children express emotions; Functional Area 9Report a problem with this question

10. 10. A 3-year-old is screaming and thrashing on the floor after another child took a toy from him. Nothing the teacher says is reaching him. What should she do first?

    • A.Step away and busy herself nearby until he is quiet, since any attention at all will keep the tantrum going.
    • B.Carry him to a quiet chair and tell him that he may rejoin the group once he has decided to stop screaming.
    • C.Raise her own voice above his screaming so that he can hear the rule clearly and understand exactly what he did wrong.
    • D.Lower her own voice and body, stay near and calm, and wait until he can hear her before talking it over.✓ Answer

    A child in full distress has lost access to the thinking part of his brain, so he borrows calm from an adult before he can use any of his own; this is co-regulation, and it has to come before self-regulation. Matching his volume adds arousal, and leaving him alone teaches him that big feelings mean being on his own with them.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — self-regulation and responding calmly and consistentlyReport a problem with this question

11. 11. A teacher wants every child in a preschool group with a wide range of skills to feel capable at the art table. Which choice of materials does that best?

    • A.A finished sample made by the teacher for children to copy, so those who struggle have a model to work from.
    • B.A step-by-step craft in which every child makes the same model, so each one has a finished piece to take home.
    • C.Open-ended materials such as paint, clay and collage scraps, where many different results are all right.✓ Answer
    • D.Coloring sheets at several levels of difficulty, so each child gets one matched to how neatly she can color.

    Materials with more than one right answer let children at different levels each succeed with the same activity, which is how an environment builds a positive self-concept. A single correct product turns the activity into a test, and grading sheets by neatness tells children where they rank before they have begun.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 8 (Self) — materials that let every child experience successReport a problem with this question

12. 12. Two 2-year-olds build side by side at the block shelf, each on his own, glancing over now and then. One grabs the other's truck and both shriek. What is the best understanding and response?

    • A.They have to learn to share now; make them hand the truck back and forth until they can take turns calmly.
    • B.Building side by side is where toddlers are; keep duplicates of favorite toys and put their wants into words.✓ Answer
    • C.The grabbing shows which one leads; let them settle it themselves so the group can sort out its own order.
    • D.They are too young for each other's company; keep them at opposite ends of the room until they are older.

    Playing alongside each other with little exchange is the parallel stage that comes before children play together, and toddlers at that stage do not yet hold the idea that a turn will come back to them. Duplicates remove most of the conflicts, and an adult who supplies the words models the negotiation the children cannot yet manage.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 9 (Social) — materials that let children play in harmony; Parten's play sequenceReport a problem with this question

13. 13. What is the main goal of guidance in an early childhood program?

    • A.Securing quick obedience to adult directions so that the day's routine keeps to its schedule for the whole group without delay.
    • B.Building children's inner control so that over time they manage their own behavior and settle their own problems.✓ Answer
    • C.Setting up a system of stickers and treats so that children behave well in order to earn the rewards being offered.
    • D.Keeping a written record of rule-breaking so that the very same consequences are applied to every child every time.

    Guidance is teaching, and what it teaches is self-discipline — the capacity to control impulses and solve problems when no adult is watching. Obedience and reward systems can produce behavior while the adult or the sticker is present, but they do not leave the child with anything he can use on his own.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — emphasis on the development of self-disciplineReport a problem with this question

14. 14. In a preschool room several children laugh at a boy who is feeding a doll and tell him that dolls are only for girls. What should the teacher do?

    • A.Let it pass without comment, since children this age say such things and forget them by the next activity.
    • B.Steer him over to the blocks for now and set the dolls out again on a day when the others are busy elsewhere.
    • C.Have the children who laughed sit apart from the group until they are ready to apologize for hurting him.
    • D.Stay with him, say that he may use any material in the room, and lead the group in talking about feelings.✓ Answer

    Teasing over a non-stereotyped choice needs two moves at once: the child who was targeted is reassured that his choice is welcome, and the whole group is helped to think about how the words felt and why people choose different things. Silence lets the message stand, and moving him away teaches him that he was the problem.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 9 (Social) — non-biased environment and understanding one's own and others' feelingsReport a problem with this question

15. 15. At snack a 4-year-old points at a new classmate and asks loudly why his skin is so much darker than hers. What is the best response?

    • A.Answer simply and warmly that skin comes in many shades and that a person's shade comes from his family.✓ Answer
    • B.Explain that in this classroom the children do not notice differences like that because they are all friends.
    • C.Tell her that this is a private matter to ask about and remind her that pointing at other people is not polite.
    • D.Say that everyone is the same on the inside, then change the subject so that the new child is not singled out.

    Young children notice physical differences and form ideas about them whether or not adults answer, so a calm, factual answer gives accurate information and shows that the topic is safe to raise. Hushing the question or insisting that nobody notices teaches the child that skin color is shameful and that this adult will not discuss it.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 9 (Social) — discussing diversity comfortably with childrenReport a problem with this question

16. 16. A 4-year-old circles a group of children building at the sand table, then reaches in and knocks part of their work over. What is the best response?

    • A.Tell him that knocking down other children's work costs him his turn at the sand table for today.
    • B.Send him to a table to work by himself until he shows he can play near others without spoiling things.
    • C.Ask the builders to let him join, since everyone may play here, then move on to another part of the room.
    • D.Coach him on the spot in getting in — help him say what he wants and offer something he could add.✓ Answer

    Circling and then disrupting is what a child does when he wants in and has no strategy for asking, so the behavior is a request in the only form he has. Coaching the entry skill in the moment gives him the words and a role, while a lost turn or a solitary table removes him from the very situation in which the skill has to be learned.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 9 (Social) — practicing cooperation and encouraging social interactionsReport a problem with this question

17. 17. Children keep running through the block area during free play. Which way of stating the limit best fits positive guidance?

    • A.“How many times must I tell you children not to run through the block area in here?”
    • B.“Stop running right now, or the block area will be closed for the rest of the morning.”
    • C.“We use walking feet indoors; there is room for running when we go outside to the yard.”✓ Answer
    • D.“No running! You all know that running is against the rules in this classroom.”

    A limit stated positively names the behavior the child should produce, which is information he can act on, and it pairs the restriction with where the impulse is allowed. Telling a child what not to do leaves him to guess the replacement, and threats and rhetorical questions add pressure without adding any instruction.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — clear, firm and consistent limits stated positivelyReport a problem with this question

18. 18. In one preschool room children regularly collide, knock over each other's work, and argue along a long open path that runs from the door to the window. What is the best first step?

    • A.Hold a meeting each morning to restate the walking rule until the whole group follows it without reminders.
    • B.Shorten free play so that there is less time for children to race through and bump into each other's work.
    • C.Seat the two children who are involved most often at the side until they show that they can move safely.
    • D.Rearrange the shelves to break up the open run and give each activity its own space with room to work.✓ Answer

    A long open runway invites running, so the room itself is producing the behavior and the same conflicts will recur with whichever children happen to be in it. Changing the arrangement removes the cause, while seating children, repeating the rule or cutting play time all treat the symptom and cost the children time they need.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — arranging space to promote interaction and limit disruptive behaviorReport a problem with this question

19. 19. Two 4-year-olds both want the same wagon, argue about it, and one shoves the other. Both children are safe. What is the best thing for the teacher to do?

    • A.Get down between them, stop the shoving, and help each one say what he wants and what would be fair.✓ Answer
    • B.Send them to opposite ends of the yard to cool off and let them come back when they are friendly again.
    • C.Take the wagon away from both of them for the rest of outdoor time so that shoving gains nothing at all.
    • D.Decide whose turn it is, tell them, and set a timer so the wagon changes hands for the rest of the hour.

    Conflict is the situation in which social problem-solving is actually learned, so the adult stops the hurting and then hands the problem back with support: each child states his want, hears the other's, and helps generate a solution. Announcing the answer or separating them ends the episode but leaves both children without the skill.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — guidance based on helping children work out their own problemsReport a problem with this question

20. 20. A 2-year-old bites another toddler on the arm, leaving a mark. What should the caregiver do FIRST?

    • A.Go to the child who was bitten, comfort him, and care for the bite following the program's procedure.✓ Answer
    • B.Telephone both families at once so that they hear about the bite from the staff before they arrive at pickup.
    • C.Write the incident in the log with the time and the place so a record exists before the details are forgotten.
    • D.Hold the biter, tell her firmly that biting hurts, and keep her beside an adult for the rest of the morning.

    The hurt child comes first because he needs comfort and care immediately, and attending to him also shows the group where the adult's concern goes. The biter is dealt with calmly right afterward by naming the other child's feelings and teaching the missing skill, and families are informed as the program requires, but neither of those is the first step.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — responding to hurtful behavior and teaching the replacement skillReport a problem with this question

21. 21. A 4-year-old deliberately tips his cup of paint water across the art table. What response best fits natural and logical consequences?

    • A.Tell him he has lost his outdoor time today, since he needs to learn that spilling on purpose has a cost.
    • B.Hand him a sponge and stay with him while he wipes up the spill, then talk about what paint water is for.✓ Answer
    • C.Give him no dessert at lunch so that he links making a mess with missing something that he really enjoys.
    • D.Have him sit away from the table for the rest of art time while the other children go on with their paintings.

    A logical consequence is tied directly to what the child did, so cleaning up the spill lets him repair the actual result and keeps the adult out of the role of punisher. Losing outdoor time or dessert has no connection to paint water, and withholding food is never acceptable as a response to behavior.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance) — appropriate guidance techniques; prohibition on withholding foodReport a problem with this question

22. 22. A 3-year-old has a meltdown at almost the same point every day, just before lunch. What is the most useful next step for the teaching team?

    • A.Keep him beside an adult at that time of day so that the meltdown can be headed off before it spreads.
    • B.Write down what happens right before and right after each meltdown for a week and look for the pattern.✓ Answer
    • C.Remind him each morning that lunch comes after cleanup and tell him to use his words when he feels upset.
    • D.Start a chart on which he earns a sticker for every day that he reaches lunch without any meltdown at all.

    Behavior that repeats at a predictable time is communicating something, and the way to find out what is to record what came before it and what followed it until the pattern shows — hunger, a rushed transition, noise, or a skill the child does not yet have. Reminders, rewards and close supervision all act before anyone knows what the behavior is asking for.

    Source: CDA Competency Standard III, Functional Area 10 (Guidance); CDA Subject Area 7 — using observation of what precedes and follows behavior to change the setupReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the CDA Competency Standards published by the Council for Professional Recognition, the NAEYC position statement on developmentally appropriate practice and its Code of Ethical Conduct, and the national health and safety performance standards for early care and education (Caring for Our Children). CDA and Child Development Associate are marks of the Council for Professional Recognition; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Council. Child care licensing — ratios, group sizes, training hours, and background checks — is set by each state and differs everywhere, so confirm your own state's regulations and the current credentialing requirements before you apply. About the CDA credential →