Your Child Is Watching You
Babies form strong emotional bonds with their parents and caregivers. They will look to you to learn how to deal with the many changes they are experiencing. As children become toddlers, they start learning how to be more independent. They will begin to experience frustration, anger and disappointment. The example you set will help your child learn to deal with his feelings.
Expressing Feelings
Children experience all kinds of feelings, including sadness, happiness, anger and fear. Coping with those feelings and expressing them in a healthy way are important things for small children to learn.
Letting your children know that you will love and accept them, no matter what, helps them bounce back from difficult times. It also helps them be able to share their needs and feelings with others, and helps your child mature. Teaching your toddler that talking things out when he is upset can help him feel better. Reassure your child that everyone has strong feelings sometimes.
A child's own anger or frustration may startle them. They need to learn from you how to deal with their emotions. Never discipline your toddler for showing emotions, but teach your child how to deal with their feelings appropriately. Throwing or breaking things are not options, but it might be the only way they know to express their emotions until they learn, from you, the proper way to react to frustration.
As they get older, children can learn to use physical movement, music or art to get their feelings out. As children learn to talk, they start to use words to show their emotions. They also start to understand how others feel, which helps when they play in groups.
Trust
For your children to have healthy emotional development, they need two things:
- They need to be able to count on others to meet their needs.
- They need to believe that the world is a safe and loving place.
Every time you feed and hold your child when he is hungry or tired, your baby learns you will be there to meets his needs. Spending time doing things with adults close to them gives children a very important feeling of security and comfort. If you shield them from your dealing with strong emotions, they might have a difficult time dealing with their own. Let them observe how you properly deal with your own emotions whenever you can. BFY
