APPROACHES IN

TEACHING AFFECTIVE
DEVELOPMENT FOR
YOUNG CHILDREN
(CSZD2343)
CHAPTER 4
Supporting Young Children's Emotional
Development and Learning
INTRODUCTION

• Children experience hundreds of different emotions each day. Emotions are linked to
everything children do and are prompted by numerous happenings, both large and small.
• How well children express their emotions and understand the emotions of others are key
elements of social competence.
• Where Do Emotions Come from?
• People in all cultures experience emotions. Joy, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, interest,
and fear seem universal (Ekman, 2007; Cole, Bruschi, & Tamang, 2002).
• Although there are obvious differences among these emotional states, they all have certain
characteristics in common.
• Each is triggered by internal or external events that send signals to the brain and central
nervous system.
• This initial reaction transpires within milliseconds, without a person even knowing it is
happening.

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INTRODUCTION

Where Do Emotions Come from?

• As a result of these signals, people become aroused and their bodies respond with
physiological changes.
• Smiling, frowning, and laughing are visible signs of how people feel. Actions like these
represent the expressive side of emotion.
Why Emotions Are Important?
• Children’s emotions run the gamut from joy and affection to anger and frustration. Some
emotions are pleasant, some are not, but all emotions play an essential role in children’s lives.
• At their most fundamental level, emotions help children to survive.
• When they do have a chance to think, emotions provide children with information about their
well-being(Lewis, 2007).
• Feelings such as happiness and trust give children a sense of safety and security.

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INTRODUCTION
Why Emotions Are Important?
• Affectionate feelings tell children they are loveable and that their love is valued by others.
• Feelings of pride suggest that they are competent.
• All these positive emotions indicate that all is right with the world and prompt children to
continue or repeat pleasurable experiences.
• On the other hand, some emotions signal discontent, misfortune, or danger. They alert
children that something is wrong.
• Anger prompts children to try to overcome obstacles.
• Sadness brings a drop in energy, allowing children time to adjust to loss or disappointment.
Fear prompts children to avoid, escape, or otherwise protect themselves from something.
• In every case, emotions help children interpret what is happening to them and cue them to
adapt to changing circumstances.

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INTRODUCTION
Why Emotions Are Important?
• emotions serve as a form of communication. Emotional displays, such as smiling or crying,
provide the first language with which infants and adults communicate before babies learn to
talk. This communication function continues over the lifespan as people use words and
nonverbal cues to express what they are feeling and to better understand the feelings of
others (Jaswal & Fernald, 2007)
• Emotions also influence children’s cognitive functioning (Zins et al., 2004). Recent scientific
evidence shows that the neural circuits in the brain that regulate emotion are highly interactive
with those associated with intellectual activities such as attending to details, setting goals,
planning, problem solving, and decision making (National Scientific Council on the Developing
• emotions can either support or interfere with these cognitive tasks. Poorly controlled emotions
and negative feelings tend to detract from intellectual functioning; strong positive emotions
and emotions that are well regulated support more advanced cognitive activity (Raver, Garner,
& SmithDonald, 2007).

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INTRODUCTION
Why Emotions Are Important?
• adults have a special responsibility to help children to
❖Better understand their emotions.
❖Become more sensitive to the emotions of others.
❖Find effective ways to manage the many different emotions they experience.

• The process begins at birth and continues throughout the elementary years. To carry out their
supportive role well, adults must fi rst understand the developmental aspects of children’s
emotions

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Children’s Emotional Development
Children’s emotional development is characterized by how
❖Children’s emotions emerge.
❖Children develop emotional self-awareness.
❖Children come to recognize other people’s emotions.
❖Children learn to regulate what they are feeling.
❖Children address the emotional tasks of childhood.

All of these developmental processes are influenced by both maturation and experience.
Understanding them will help you to respond to children with sensitivity and in ways that
promote children’s social competence

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Children’s Emotional Development
How Children’s Emotions Develop
• researchers agree that within their first year, babies will experience varying emotions.
However, infants will not display all the emotions they will ever have.
• 12 months old, baby will clearly express joy (at about 6 weeks), anger (at approximately 4 to 6
months), sadness (around 5 to 7 months), and fear (between 6 and 12 months).
• by the end of the first year, a child’s repertoire of emotions has moved beyond the primary
four to include surprise, elation, frustration, separation anxiety, and stranger distress.
• second year (Ekman, 2007). At that age, children are more self-conscious, and emotions such
as embarrassment, affection, envy, defiance, and contempt enter the picture
• By 3 years of age, children become increasingly focused on others, exhibiting initial signs of
empathy and a difference between their affection for children and for adults
• Around age 3, children also start to make judgments about their actions, demonstrating signs
of pride when they succeed (smiling, clapping, or shouting “I did it”), as well as shame when
they are not successful

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Children’s Emotional Development
How Children Develop Emotional Self-Awareness
• By ages 5 or 6, children label their emotions and report that they can hold more than one
feeling at a time as long as those feelings come from the same emotional cluster.
• Sometime between the ages of 8 and 11, children come to understand that multiple and
contrasting feelings toward the same event are feasible.
• By ages 10 to 12 years, children recognize that they can hold two or more very different
feelings toward the same object or situation at the same time.

How Children Learn to Identify Other People’s Emotions

• Prior to age 3. Although infants and toddlers react to other people’s emotions, they are not
very adept at accurately interpreting them. Their lack of experience and limited vocabulary
contribute to this circumstance (Widen & Russell, 2003).

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Children’s Emotional Development

How Children Learn to Identify Other People’s Emotions

• Ages 3 through 5. Preschoolers become increasingly accurate at identifying other people’s
positive and negative emotions (Berk, 2006). In doing so, they rely mostly on facial
expressions and tone of voice to tell them how someone else is feeling.
• The primary years. During the primary years, children combine physical, situational, and
historic information to understand and interpret emotions.

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Children’s Emotional Development

How Children Learn to Regulate Their Emotions

• At the same time that children are developing greater emotional understanding, they are also
becoming better able to regulate what they feel.
• gradually learn to manage their emotions so they are not totally overwhelmed by them and so they
can
• interact with others more effectively. Emotional regulation requires putting emotional awareness to
work in real-life situations that may be upsetting, frustrating, or embarrassing (Eisenberg &
Spinrad, 2004; Ekman,2007).
• Babies learn to elicit comfort from a caregiver through the sounds they make or to turn away if an
interaction is too emotionally intense.
• Toddlers can be seen rocking themselves when they are upset and distracting themselves in
frustrating circumstances or when they have to wait.
• Pre schoolers have many more strategies at their disposal and are more proficient in using them.
Words become more central to their repertoire, and children become better able to use internal
strategies to moderate their feelings in various situations (Calkins & Williford, 2009).

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Children’s Emotional Development
Emotional IQ
Children’s emotional self-awareness, their
understanding of other people’s feelings, and
their ability to manage what they feel all
contribute to their social competence. This
combination of knowledge and action is
popularly termed emotional IQ (Goleman,
2007)

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Children’s Emotional Development
Emotional IQ
The degree to which children develop their
emotional IQ is influenced to a great extent by
how well they address the emotional tasks of
childhood. Let’s consider those next

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The Emotional Tasks of Childhood

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Challenges Children Encounter When Dealing with
Emotions
• Nonsupportive Adult Behavior
• Ignoring children’s emotions
• Lying to children about emotional situations
• Denying children’s emotions
• Shaming children

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Appropriate Ways of Responding to Children’s
Emotions
• Children’s emotions are real and legitimate to them.
• There are no right or wrong emotions. All feelings stem from the primary emotions, which
occur naturally.
• Children are not adept at regulating their emotions, nor can they simply change their emotions
on command.
• All emotions serve useful functions in children’s lives.

Talking to Children about Their Emotions

• There is strong evidence that when adults talk with children about their emotions, children’s
emotional competence increases (Epstein, 2009; Calkins & Williford, 2009).
• A simple way to get emotion-focused conversations started is for adults to simply identify the
emotions children are expressing (Thompson & Twibell, 2009)
• children learn best from firsthand experience, they benefit when emotions are named and
described to them as they happen
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Affective Reflections
• Affective reflections such as these
acknowledge and help to defi ne children’s
emotions. In each situation, the adult’s
words and voice tone matches the
emotional state being described, enhancing
the completeness of the message.

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Helping Children Use Words to Express Their
Emotions to Others
• adults can also coach children in how to talk
about their emotions and how to express
them in acceptable ways.
• Children become better skilled at describing
emotions when adults provide appropriate
information about what people are feeling
and why, rather than expecting children to
know these things automatically (Thompson
& Twibell, 2009).

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Skills for Supporting Children’s Emotional
Development and Learning
• Formulating Affective Reflections
❖Observe children carefully before saying anything.
❖Be sensitive to the wide range of emotions children exhibit.
❖Make a non judgmental assessment of what the child is experiencing.
❖Make a brief statement to the child describing the emotion you observed.
❖Use a variety of feeling words over time.
❖Acknowledge children’s emotions even when you do not feel comfortable with them
❖Revise inaccurate reflections.

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Promoting Children’s Understanding and
Communication about Emotions
• Use stories, books, and songs to prompt • Draw children’s attention to situational cues
discussions about emotions. that contribute to people’s emotions.
• Help children recognize opportunities to • Help children sort out mixed emotions
describe their emotions to others.
• Make deliberate efforts to talk with both
• Provide children with sample scripts to help boys and girls about their emotions.
them talk about their emotions.
• Learn more about the cultural variations in
o Suggest words to the child that fit the situation emotional expression represented by the
o Ask children questions that prompt them to children and families within your group.
describe how they feel.
• Help children figure out how another person is
feeling based on that person’s actions.
• Set an example for talking about emotions by
bringing them up yourself.

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Helping Children Cope with Strong Emotions
• Acknowledge children’s strong emotions.
• Comfort children who are sad or afraid.
• Redefine events to help children manage strong emotions.
• Anticipate new situations that may cause some children to feel insecure, prompting intense
reactions
• Support children as they approach feared situations gradually
• Teach children self-regulating strategies they can use to manage their emotions more
effectively.
• Give children many opportunities to experience joy, happiness, and humor.

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Communicating with Family Members
about Emotions
• Provide information to family members about the emotions children experience during their
time with you.
• Elicit information from family members about children’s emotional lives at home.
• Help family members better understand typical facets of children’s emotional development.
• Pay attention to the emotions family members expres.
• Accept family member emotions, even when those emotions make you uncomfortable.
• Put a check on defensive reactions when family members express anger aimed at you or the
program

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