The emotional world of children never ceases to amaze us. From birth, babies already begin to show what they like and don’t like. Do you want to know more about
From birth, babies manifest certain attitudes which are the prelude to the emotions which will develop. The emotional world of children in their first years of life is determined by the five basic emotions: anger, disgust, joy, sadness and fear. We are all born with these emotions and they develop little by little as we grow and develop.
Emotions will be the tools children will have to deal with any situation they they will face. Moreover, they will be the ones who will encourage them to react. The basic emotions at the beginning will give rise to secondary emotions such as the compassion, shame, frustration and loneliness, among others. All will be part of the child’s life and of his future adult life. It is therefore important that, from an early age, they know how to understand, recognize and manage their emotions.
The emotional world of children
Very often, the child starts crying out loud or laughing out loud and the adults don’t really know why. The reason is that he is growing up and the emotions are starting to show up. The little one will have to begin to recognize and dominate them, but this process will not be easy. For it, parents must guide and help their children to name their emotions and talk about how they make them feel.
According to a study called psychology of emotion, carried out by the doctor in psychology Mariano Chóliz, from the department of fundamental psychology of the University of Valencia, emotions have three functions: adaptive, motivational and social. All them emotions have an important function for the adaptation of the person and his personal adjustment, even the most unpleasant ones. The emotional development of children begins at birth with the most primitive emotions, when their dislike or interest in their environment arises. And this continues until adolescence, during which they will finish developing them all.
Curiosities about the emotional world of children
There are some aspects of the emotional world of children that we may not be aware of. Do you want to know some of them? We are going to tell you some curiosities about the emotions of children. Don’t miss it and keep reading!
- Newborns have a basic emotional world. Babies show disgust in situations that make them uncomfortable, such as loud flavors or noises, among others. Likewise, they show interest in what catches their attention or what appeals to them.
- Babies lack the ability to control their emotions because they are still unaware of it. Because of this, they can feel overwhelmed even by the things that make them feel good.
- At 10 months they already have all the basic emotions : anger, joy, sadness, fear and disgust.
- Babies are not able to feel shame, envy or pride because they do not yet know these emotions.
- As a baby’s brain develops, he smiles and shows his pleasure when he likes something. In addition, he will show interest in his favorite toys or foods. He will also be unhappy or angry when there is something he doesn’t like or feels tired.
- The emotion of joy appears a few months before sadness. Later, envy and trust will be added to the emotional repertoire.
- When children begin to feel basic emotions, in an emotionally charged moment, they may have temper tantrums. For example, when the little one feels sad, afraid, angry or in pain, if he does not know how to identify it, he will feel confused and this can lead to behavior problems and anxiety.
- The children having good emotional intelligence do better in school.
- Normally, children do not show signs of fear until they are 7 or 8 months old. However, according to a study by Theodore Gaensbauer and Susan Hiatt (Facial Communication of Emotion in Early Infancy), abused children can show signs of fear as early as 3 months.
- children are not able to regulate their emotions on their own: adults must therefore help them learn to do so. This can be done through games or stories and, above all, when they are calm and serene.
- From the moment a child begins to feel emotions, parents should help identify them and to name them so that he achieves good emotional management.
- Children need to be able to express their emotions. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, if he needs to cry, he has to. Don’t say things like “kids don’t cry” to children.
The emotional world of children, a whole world to discover
From birth, parents never stop learning from their children, who are like a box of surprises because they offer something new every day. As for the emotional world of children, we are surprised to see how these primitive emotions of the beginning evolve over the months and eventually become their core emotional repertoire. The adults must teach them to manage these emotions so they achieve a healthy expression and don’t end up exploding into having temper tantrums. It is we who must guide them in this world that they are beginning to discover.