Chapter 5 Supporting Childrens Emotional Development

Where do emotions come from?

- Each emotional state is triggered by internal or external events that send signals to the
brain and central nervous system
Physical component of emotion
- Become aroused, body responds with physiological changes
- Heart may beat faster, palms sweat or throat becomes dry
Expressive side of emotion
- Smiling, frowning, laughing signs of how people feel
- One interprets what is happening to them by context, goals and past experience
Cognitive part of emotion
- Considering factors to determine degree of happiness, sadness, anger or fear
Must combine all three to create emotions
Why emotions are important
- Emotions help children to survive
- Ex. Forming attachment to important people in childs life
- Emotions provide children with info about their well-being; as a result child take action
to maintain or change emotional state
How Childrens Emotions Develop
- Within first year of life, babies experience varying emotions
- Emotions increase in numbers and complexity as child matures
- Primary emotions: intense and pure emotions that are the first to develop in infancy and
from which other related emotions develop (joy, anger, sadness and fear)
- Ex. One of the primary emotions: Sadness
Corresponding Emotional Clusters of Sadness: frustration, disgust, fury and boredom
- 1st year: repertoire of emotions has moved beyond primary four
- 2nd year: further diversity and greater specificity of emotions; children more selfconscious
- 3rd year: children become increasingly focused on others, signs of empathy and a
difference between affect for children and adults; make judgments about their actions
- Expanded repertoire of emotional expression is a result of interacting factors: presence
of primary emotions, context of each situation and childrens developing cognitive and
language capacities
How Children Develop Emotional Self-Awareness (fig. 5-3 p. 148)
Toddlers/ Preschoolers

- Child believes that emotions happen at one time (when they are pleased, they are
entirely pleased)
- Emotional responses alternate rapidly
- Quick changes from one emotional state to another are typical for this age
Age 5/6
- Can hold more than one feeling at a time as long as they came from the same emotional
cluster
- Ex. Going to a party, might be happy and excited, but wouldnt feel happy and nervous
Ages 8-11
- Come to understand that multiple and contrasting feelings toward the same event are
feasible
- Ex. Staying home alone is both scary but also make them feel proud
Ages 10-12
- Children recognize that they can hold two or more very different feelings toward the
same object/ situation at the same time
- Aware of mixed emotions, which can be confusing
- Ability to sort out mixed feelings involves maturity and experience
- Shift between emotional states not as rapid as preschoolers
- Emotions last longer, rooted in the past and future, here and now
How Children Learn to Identify Other Peoples Emotions
Prior to age 3
-Infants and toddlers not very adept at accurately interpreting others emotions
- Due to lack of experience and limited vocab
Ages 3 through 5
- Able to identify others positive and negative emotions
- Do so using others facial expressions and tone of voice
- Focus on only one emotion in others
Primary years
- Combine physical, situational and historic info to understand and interpret emotions
- Come to learn that source of ones feelings could be internal, physical or situational
- Learn that same events dont always have same outcome
- Ex. Loud music makes Tricia happy, but makes Katrina feel overwhelmed
How Children Learn to Regulate Their Emotions
- Learn to manage emotions so not overwhelmed by them and so they can interact with
others
- Requires putting emotional awareness to work in real-life situations that may be
upsetting, frustrating or embarrassing
- Regulation can involve suppressing certain emotions or intensifying them

- Some of the emotional regulation strategies children may acquire over time include:
suppressing the expression of certain emotions (hiding disappointment while
congratulating a winner)
soothing ones self (carrying around a teddy bear when a child feels sad)
seeking comfort (crawling into a parents lap when another child is unkind)
avoiding or ignoring certain emotionally arousing events (covering eyes during a
scary movie)
changing goals that have been stymied (abandoning effort to make the basketball
team and focusing on soccer instead)
interpreting emotionally arousing events in alternate ways (brothers abruptness
due to being upset about an earlier fight with mom)
Emotional IQ
- Measure of a persons adeptness at understanding his or her own emotions and the
emotions of others
- A child with a high emotional IQ is more likely to be more successful in life than
children with lower emotional IQ
- 5 Fundamental lessons associated with emotional IQ
1) Everyone has emotions
2) Emotions are prompted by different situations
3) There are different ways to express emotions
4) Other people may not feel the same way I do about everything
5) I can do things to affect how I feel and how others feel
- Degree to which children develop emotional IQ is influenced by how well they address
the emotional tasks of childhood
The Emotional Tasks of Childhood (Table 5-3 p. 153)
- Erik Erikson has identified eight emotional stages through which people progress
- Each stage characterized by positive and negative emotions
- The stages build on one another
- 4 stages take place during the childhood years
Trust vs. mistrust
- First stage
- The emotional conflict during this stage is whether children will develop selfconfidence and trust in the world, or not
- Children who develop positive feelings, are supported when adults develop positive
relationships with them and attend to their needs
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
- Second year of life
- Struggle in this stage is to emerge with a sense of being an independent, self-directed
human
- Autonomous children are permitted to make choices and are given clear, positive
messages regarding limits to their behaviour

- Nonautonomous children doubt their ability to control their world or themselves

Initiative vs. guilt
- Forth of five year of life
- Develop a new sense of energy
- The emotional conflict is whether the energy will be directed constructively or will be
nonproductive
- Those with a strong sense of initiative take pleasure in their competence and are better
able to cooperate and accept help from others
- A sense of guilt can develop when own efforts fall short of own expectations or adult
expectations
Industry vs. inferiority
- Six to twelve years of age
- The emotional issue is whether youngster will come away feeling competent and able or
whether they will believe that their best efforts are inadequate
- Industriousness is fostered when adults recognize and praise childrens success,
encourage children to explore skills, help children set realistic goals and set up tasks so
children experience mastery
Individual Variations in Childrens Expressive Styles
- Temperament and combinations of the factors below influence expressive style
Proportion of positive and negative emotions children exhibit
- Some children optimistic, others neutral and some downhearted
- We all have certain emotional tenor that determines how we handle events
Frequency with which children show certain emotions
- Children have certain ways they react from one situation to another
Intensity with which children express their emotions
- Intensity of response to a situation will vary in intensity among children
How long certain emotional states last
- Some children hang on to their emotional reactions longer than others
Degree to which childrens emotional responses are dominated by primary or mixed
emotions
- Some children continue to show primary emotions, while others show more
complicated combinations of feelings
How quickly childrens emotions are activated
- Variations are not inherently good or bad
Gender Differences in Childrens Emotional Expression

- Females are more emotionally expressive and sensitive to others feelings than males
- Girls are more likely to figure out other peoples feelings
- Biology likely plays a role but the variations are also taught and modeled
- Adults encourage little girls to express emotions more than they do boys
Family and Cultural Variations in Childrens Emotional Expression
- Learn expressive variations at home and in the community
- Absorb them through observing and interacting with others
Imitation
- Imitating someones emotional expression to guide own actions
- A childs reaction often determined by how an adult reacts
- Ex. A boy falls on the playground, if an adult seems alarmed he may become upset, but
if the adults reaction is matter of fact he may pick himself up and move on
Feedback
- Adults provide feedback through gestures and sounds
- Based on feedback they receive, children gradually come to know better as to where,
when and how to express their emotions
Direct Instruction
- Adults give children specific instructions about they should express their emotions
- Difference between an appropriate and inappropriate reaction
- Enforced with a variety of social costs and rewards
Variations in How Children Interpret Emotional Events (Table 5-4 p. 158)
Developmental changes in childrens fears
- Younger and older children experience fear but are not afraid of the same things
- Imaginary fears gradually give way to more realistic fears (parallels a shift in thinking)
- Children understand cause and effect, fantasy and reality and can draw on previous
experiences
Learned fears
- A fear specific to one child
- Ex. Going to the dentist (had a filing which hurt, family member anxious at the dentist)
- Age-related variations in childrens interpretations of emotional events combine with
what they have learned to produce certain responses
Challenges Children Encounter when dealing with emotions
Infancy to Age 7
- Children sometimes expect others to interpret their emotions accurately and respond in
supportive ways
- Children often choose inappropriate actions to show how they feel

- Poor choice may be due to poor modeling, lack of know-how or being immature
Ages 7 to 12
- Less likely to be open about emotions
- When children hide emotions, no chance to see they have experiences in common with
other people
- These children may think of own emotions as unnatural or different
Nonsupportive Adult Behaviour
Ignoring childrens emotions
- Emotions remain and children have no better way of coping
- Child may feel their feelings are unimportant
Lying to children about emotional situations
- Lies fail to prepare children for the reality of a situation they are facing
- Bonds of trust can be destroyed
Denying childrens emotions
- Ex. Parent says, You shouldnt be so scared
- The message adults are conveying is these emotions are wrong, and that children are
bad for experiencing them
Shaming children
- Ex. I cant believe you are being such a baby about this
- Demoralizing for a child
- Child may feel doubtful, guilty or inferior
- Adults ignoring or lying are often tying to avoid a scene, which prevents the child from
learning for effective ways to handle emotional situations
Appropriate ways of responding to childrens emotions
- Rather than trying to eliminate or restrict a childs feelings, adults should accept them
Talking to children about their emotions
- Children benefit when emotions are named and described to them as they happen
- Childrens emotional competence increases when adults talk to them about their
emotions
Affective Reflections
- A strategy to name and describe childrens emotions in day-to-day situations
- Ex. Barry climbs to the top of the jungle gym and says hey everyone look at me, adult
responds by saying youre proud to have climbed so high
- The reflections help define childrens emotions

How Children benefit when you use affective reflections

- Makes abstract, internal states more tangible (naming something makes it more
concrete)
- Using affective reflections, adults exhibit sensitivity and caring in a way children
understand
- AR helps children comprehend that all emotions are part of living
- AR makes it easier for children to draw on past emotional learning
Helping children use words to express their emotions to others
- The degree to which one is able to express their emotions influence their ability to
maintain close personal ties
- Children become better skilled at describing emotions when adults provide appropriate
info about what people are feeling and why rather than expecting a child to know these
things
Pitfalls to Avoid
Sounding all-knowing
- You must be feeling sad
- Makes it more difficult for children to correct a mistaken reflection
Accusing children
- Words such as vicious, stubborn, nasty are not feeling words, they are accusatory terms
- Not an accurate interpretation of childrens emotions
Coercing children into talking about their emotions
- Repeated questions such as why are you so upset?
- Creates pressure that children find stressful
- Adults should remain alert to actions by children indicating they are not ready to talk.