Stanley Greenspan’s six developmental levels (stages) of the mind is a process that illustrates how children translates and internalizes the raw data of senses and inner feelings into images and represents them to others. The six stage theory includes:

1. 1. Security: the ability to look, listen, and be calm.
2. 2. Relating: the ability to feel warm and close to others.
3. 3. Intentionally: two-way communication without words.
4. 4. Solving Problems: forming a sense of self.
5. 5. Emotional Ideas: substituting a thought or an idea for an action or behavior.
6. 6. Emotional Thinking: connecting external events to internal images or ideas.

Infants: Communication without Words – Researchers at UCLA found that 93 percent of communication effectiveness was determined by nonverbal cues and 7 percent by the words that were spoken, so it is very important that caregivers respond to a child’s vocalizations by physically touching and cooing when babies babble. These actions not only rewards their efforts, but also demonstrate warmth and builds security. Responding to gestures and emotions as infants begin to link smiles and accepting looks with feelings of trust and safety, and menacing unfamiliar looks and gestures with danger, emotional thinking becomes the support for learning prior to developing formal language.

Toddlers: Solving Problems – Using specific praise where the process and the effort is being praise (I see you’re working really hard on building that tower) leads toddlers to work harder and solve problems rather than just praising the child (You’re great, I’m proud of you). The brain is a muscle and grows new neurons when challenged so that intelligence and problem solving can be developed by encouraging toddler’s efforts.

Preschoolers: Emotional Thinking - Stanley T. Greenspan and T. Berry Brazelton said in their book The Irreducible Needs of Children that “Emotions are the internal architects, conductors, or organizers of our mind. We ‘know’ things through our emotional interactions and then apply that knowledge to the cognitive world.” Stanley T. Greenspan stated in his “Floor Time” video that “Through play, children … are learning how to think logically and may use this new skill to figure things out…. Knowing how to reason about cause and effect, fantasy and reality, and a whole rage of emotional experiences is vital for relating to peers and family, and success in school.” Have children create a feeling wheel where they spin a pointer to faces with various emotions; happy, sad, lonely, scared, or angry. Help children name the different moods and talk about what they feel like, then have them mimic the faces. This activity is particularly good for autistic children who have a hard time recognizing feelings.

Willard Hartup said, “…the single best childhood predictor of adult adaptation is not IQ
nor school grades, but rather the adequacy with which a child gets along with others.
Children who are unable to sustain close relationships with others…are seriously at risk.”

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. - (Chinese Proverb)