SAGA for Toddlers

Supporting Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), with focus on children aged 0-2 years.
The project

SAGA for Toddlers is a research and development project that aims to support young children’s socio-emotional development, language and communication skills through shared storybook reading with mentalizing dialogues in ECEC and in collaboration with the guardians.

Social-emotional development in young children refers to the growing ability to recognize, name and regulate their emotions, to empathise and understand the emotions of others, and to manage social relationships. Socio-emotional development is related to language and communication skills and responsive interaction with caregivers. 

The aim of the project

SAGA for Toddlers focuses on strengthening the ability to identify and name emotions, supporting the professional development and relational skills of ECEC teachers and personnel, and increasing parents’ understanding of the impact of storybook reading on language- and socio-emotional skills. Our research on the SAGA model shows that mentalizing dialogues together with shared storybook reading can: 

  • Support language development and the identification of emotions.
  • Strengthen the relationship between the child and the guardians/professionals in ECEC.

Shared storybook reading according to the SAGA-model has shown to be a simple and appealing method according to the personnel in ECEC. SAGA for Toddlers develops the method to support the language, communication and the socio-emotional skills of younger children, thereby supporting general learning skills and school success.

Cooperation and funding

SAGA for toddlers cooperates with public ECEC centres in Southern Finland

The project is funded by Svenska kulturfonden.