This chapters reviews the development of the child from a socioemotional perspective. It highlights the work of Henri Wallon and Colwyn Trevarthen. Both authors emphasized the primacy of emotions in determining the development of the infant, as they are behind motor development, cognitive and language development. Also, both authors underscored the importance of the social and economical material conditions as important determinants of the development of the child. The physical conditions, the stressors faced by parents and the opportunities to be with the child have a powerful impact on the cognitive, language and emotional development of the child. Usually, children in poverty show considerable differences in development with children of more affluent families. Educational reforms and remedying impoverished social and economic conditions are obvious conditions for an optimal development of the child.