The Power of Parenting

Tuesday, 03 November 2020

Emotional Development

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 Emotional Skills
  • Uses pretend play to gain control of frustrating and frightening experiences
  • Experiences positive self-esteem, feels good about himself and takes pride in his accomplishments
  • Complies with requests from parents more often
  • Concentrates and works alone for up to 20 - 30 minutes
  • Keeps going on a difficult task for longer periods
Emerging Emotional Skills
  • Shows a desire to fit into home routines
  • Shows ability to reflect on himself and his actions e.g., “What I said wasn’t nice”
  • Experiences and understands positive and negative feelings about another person
  • Is able to distinguish fantasy from reality
  • Starts to show more interest in taking care of himself alone, e.g., cleaning room, bathroom needs, bathing

Comfort
If you do this:
Your preschooler will
  • Monitor and put a name to things that may cause your child’s experiences to be negative
  • Give your child the chance to develop his strengths and talents
  • Experience lower stress levels and feel your love and support
  • Learn to feel capable in different areas, e.g., sports, music, drawing
Play
If you do this:
Your preschooler will

 
  • Provide crayons, paper and markers and encourage your child to draw and talk about her pictures and events
  • Create a stage where your child can act out situations and emotions by herself or using puppets
  • Use her creativity to express emotions and talk about feelings in relation to events
  • Identify and talk about feelings in an imaginative way
Teach
If you do this:
Your preschooler will

 
  • Show and coach your child on how to handle emotions and feelings
  • Support your child when he wants to try new things or take risks in social situations
  • Learn how to express anger and frustration safely
  • Learn that wanting to try out new things is ok and can bring success