The Power of Parenting

Monday, 15 February 2021

Emotional Development: 31 to 36 Months

Emotional Development means the development of a full range of emotions from sad to happy to angry, and learning to deal with them appropriately. This helps build self-esteem and leads to such deeper qualities as sympathy, caring, resiliency, assertiveness and empathy and the ability to rise to life’s challenges.

Typical Skills
  • Objects to major changes in routines
  • Recognizes and responds to other children’s feelings
  • Becomes more comfortable with new people
  • Wants independence but may fear new experiences
  • Desires approval and needs praise
Emerging Skills
  • Explains feelings when asked about them
  • Is more able to understand the feelings of other children, and talk about them
  • Gets excited about activities she may have done, e.g., baking cookies
  • May stamp feet when frustrated
  • May request certain stories to help resolve fears, e.g., of monsters

Comfort
If you do this:
Your Toddler will:

  • Try to maintain regular routines and let your toddler know when a change is coming
  • Praise your child’s emerging abilities and independent efforts
  • Acknowledge his feelings and talk about them
  • Feel a sense of security and predictability
  • Become more self-assured and feel more encouraged to try things
  • Learn to understand his own feelings and respond appropriately to those of others
Play
If you do this:
Your Toddler will:

  • Sing the song “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands,” substituting different feelings and actions (grumpy/stamp feet)
  • Find people pictures showing different emotions; talk about the person’s feelings and why they might feel that way
  • Encourage your child to do small excursions with other familiar caregivers, e.g., going to the park
  • Learn to label different emotions and explore how people express their feelings
  • Begin to think about what causes people to have different feelings and recognize words that match emotions
  • Become more comfortable being away from her parents
Teach
If you do this:
Your Toddler will:

  • Read books with your child about different feelings
  • Create a picture chart of his day (e.g., showing breakfast time, nap time)
  • Do his favourite activities with him
  • Have a chance to ask about emotions and learn about his own
  • Have a comforting reminder of his routine and learn about the sequence of events
  • Feel proud to demonstrate his abilities