Early childhood emotional development: How to lay the foundation for a happy life for your child?
By- Ishita Sharma
Long before the scientific studies of children were made, it is an accepted fact that the early years are critical in a child’s development. The first scientific study about the importance of early years in a child’s development came into existence with Freud’s study of personality maladjustment. Emotional development during childhood consists of children's emerging capacity to experience, regulate and express a range of emotions. Emotional development plays a vital role in the growth and development of a child into well-adjusted adults. It is initially through emotions only, that the infant is able to communicate.
There are several methods that are involved in the emotional development of a child. The first one is trial and error learning, which involves the children adopting the emotions that give them the greatest satisfaction and abandoning the ones that give them little or no satisfaction. The second one is learning through imitation, which involves children reacting with similar emotions and methods of expression as that of the person observed. The third one is learning by identification, which involves children imitating the emotions of the people they admire and have strong emotional attachments with.
If a child is emotionally healthy is determined if the child is able to identify different feelings, express them maybe through simple words and process the difficult emotions. Even before babies are a year old, emotional expressions are similar to that of an adult. Babies display an increasing repertoire of emotional responses such as joy, anger, fear and happiness. These responses can be aroused by people, objects and certain situations. As babies grow older, their emotional responses become less and undifferentiated. Further, with increasing age, linguistic responses are observed more as compared to the motor ones.
Emotions tend to affect the personal and social adjustments of a child. How a child views his/ her roles in life and position in a social group is markedly influenced by whether they are shy, curious, aggressive, frightened or happy. In the home/ school/ neighbourhood/ play group, children’s emotions affect the psychological climate and vice versa. Example- a childish temper annoys and embarrasses others, thus charging the emotional climate with anger and resentment which further makes the child unwanted and unloved. Emotions also interfere with the mental activities. This is evident when a child performs below his/ her intellectual potentials due to emotional disturbance which affects concentration, recall and reasoning.
The basis for laying a foundation for healthy emotional development and for the facilitation of continual growth for children lies with providing them a safe space especially during the initial years of development. Even if the unpleasant expressions such as crying are displayed, it shouldn’t be prevented. Safe environment also consists of the child being able to express any sort of emotion be it pleasant or unpleasant. Show them love and affection, talk to them about the simplest of things be it about their day at elementary school or small fight with a friend for sharing of paints. Support them with the smallest of decisions, be it them choosing an attire for Halloween or not wanting to eat a particular dish. Allow them to make mistakes, and learn from them; the more they learn, the more they will be able to tackle with the various situations that come up.
Also, it is necessary to encourage the child to try and create new things, be it playing instruments or being part of a soccer team at school or reading books. When they discuss something, it is crucial to be an active listener and also be empathetic at the same time. Try to spend time with them, take them out for walks, play with them, and be a part of certain activities of their interest. An interesting method that could contribute in teaching them without being bored is bedtime stories. This will also encourage them to interact more.
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