Children's Emotional Competency: Parental Analysis

Children are very complex, unique and varied individuals whose genetics, connections and backgrounds all perform significant roles in their emotional development (Wilson, 2003). The genetic blueprint a child inherits from its parents may plot a course for development but the environment and the influences within can affect how the child is shaped, how they connect with and are perceived by others and how their emotions are or are not expressed. Wilson (2003) points out emotions as an experience that is linked to cognitive interpretation, context, subjective feeling, physical reaction and behavioural expression. Campos, Campos, and Barrett (1989) suggest emotions are processes of establishing, maintaining, or disrupting the relations between the person and the internal or external environment, when such relations are significant to the individual.

Early childhood educators teach students within pre-school programs, kindergarten programs and ultimately through the second grade. Educators influence our children in order to become fully prepared for the future generation. It has been stereotyped that these educators may teach simple topics; however, these particular concepts are the fundamentals toward a child’s emotional and academic growth. The use of social skills within a classroom environment potentially results in not only the students’ academic state; however, the child’s emotional well being as well. I was interested in this topic because I will be pursuing a career in early childhood education. I believe that implementing lessons involving social-emotional development skills

Emotional development is a complex task that begins in infancy and continues into adulthood. The first emotions that can be recognised in babies include joy, anger, sadness and fear. Later, as children begin to develop a sense of self, more complex emotions like shyness, surprise, elation, embarrassment, shame, guilt, pride and empathy emerge. Primary school children are still learning to identify emotions, to understand why they happen and how to manage them appropriately. As children develop, the things that provoke their emotional responses change, as do the strategies they use to manage them.

Infants and toddlers are facing increasing sophistication of their social world, which calls the need for them to learn how to regulate their emotions (Denham, von Salisch, Olthof, Kochanoff, & Caverly, 2002). Emotion regulation is very important for them as it plays a critical role in their lives that it influences their all areas of lives including learning, relationships and psychological health and wellbeing (White, Hayes & Livesey, 2015). Children who have emotional dysregulation may have psychopathological issues and their future development can be deviant (as cited in Cole, Michael, & Teti, 1994; Maughan & Cicchetti, 2002). Therefore, early childhood educators should have a sound understanding of emotion regulation and support children to grow into emotionally steady individuals. This essay will provide various definitions of emotional regulation and four methodologies to study

Denham, Mitchell-Copeland, Strandberg, Auerbach and Blair (1997) conducted a study that involved preschoolers from 60 families. The research was held in both home and classroom settings. They used observational and self-report methodologies to measure the emotional ability. The results showed that children whose parents’ responses were more positive, had a better relationship with peers and were more socially competent. Instead, children whose parents’ responses were more negative, they displayed a negative emotion to peers. They suggested that children observed how their parents reacted and they reacted in the same way in similar situations. The research showed that children learnt to self-regulate their emotion through social

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a process for helping children develop the fundamental skills essential for academic and life success for all children. These skills include the ability to recognise and manage emotions, problem solving and forming positive relationships. Research indicates fundamental skills can be taught by regular teachers, in regular classrooms to all students irrespective of their individual background or needs. Society has an expectation that children will inherit the social roles now occupied by adults and schools are paramount to preparing children for this responsibility. Many factors influence social and emotional development including family and environmental factors, genetic disorders, serious illness and disabilities.

Children will often have behavior issues that result in difficulties adjusting to school. Emotion competence and emotion knowledge is the ability to recognize, interpret, and respond constructively to emotions (Miller et al., 2006). What role does emotion knowledge as well as emotion competence have in the behavior and adjustment to school for preschool children? The answer to that question is unclear. Researchers have uncovered evidence that provides mixed results regarding the importance of emotion knowledge and competence in the behavior adjustment to school by preschool children.

A comprehensive aptitude of self-regulation, empathy, independence and resilience is crucial to establishing high emotional literacy (Andrew, 2015, p.359). Based “on a large and diverse range of experiences”, such social and emotional understanding is fundamental in developing a secure base and resilient sense of self-concept; with emotional connection strategic in overcoming adversity (Andrew, 2015; Dowling, 2014). Such emotional capacity to regulate feelings is strongly influenced through primary attachments, with children often mirroring observed behaviours, whether positive or negative (Dowling, 2014). Thus, early experiences of a supportive family environment, endorsing the expression and discussion of emotions, positively promotes self-assertion

In this essay I am going to show my understanding of a child's early emotional development based on the psychoanalytical view of child development. I will show how emotional skills gained in the early years can be of a significant relevance to later life. I will show my understanding by illustrating it with the clinical material. Although I am focusing on the psychoanalytical approach to child development I believe that it is beneficial to present also some general background knowledge of child development.

“During the first six years, children are challenged by the conflicts of trust vs. mistrust”(). Newer research has established compelling links between social- emotional development, behavior and school success. Emotional understanding is critical to positive social relationships and peer acceptance. Children who can interpret emotional signals accurately are more likely to become angry and aggressive. The more adults acknowledge childrens emotional reactions and explain emotionals signals, the better children become at interpreting them. Strategies to help guide social-emotional competence includes:

When a child is born its emotional development begins almost immediately, although it could also be argued that this development begins before birth. There are many factors which contribute to this development and a number of these factors are external to the child; such as their family, the home environment and the relationships which they experience throughout their life course. From a social work aspect, this is why it is important to ensure that a child’s environment is one which is loving and offers stability for the child throughout their early development. As a social worker, it is central that we understand a child’s development, as this gives us an overall picture of the child’s life and how their current life situation is

Emotional development begins early in life. The ability to regulate one’s own emotions and manage successful interactions with other people is the key for later academic performance, mental health, and social relationships. This topic aims to provide a better understanding of the key stages of emotional development, its impacts, interrelated skills, and the factors that influence emotional competence.

In the book, “Raising An Emotional Intelligent Child” author John Gottman guide’s parent’s toward raising an intelligent child by teaching them about the awareness of their emotions. Parents are known to be emotional coaches, parents who get involved with their child’s feelings. They accept negative emotions as a fact of life and use emotional moments as opportunities for teaching their kids important life lessons and building closer relationships with them. Emotional intelligence controls impulses, delays gratification, motivate themselves, reading others social cues, coping with life’s ups and downs. Parenting requires intellect, but most importantly empathy. In parent- child interactions, most parents fall into two categories: parents who give their children guidance about the world of emotion and those who do not. There are 3 types of parents who fail to teach emotional intelligence: the dismissing parent, disapproving, and Laissez-Faire. Dismissing parents tend to disregard and ignore children’s negative emotions. Disapproving parents are critical of their children’s displays of negative feelings and may punish them for emotional expression. Lastly, Laissez-Faire parents, accept their children’s emotions and empathize with them, but fail to offer guidance or set limits on their children’s behavior.

Social competence refers to the physical, cognitive, emotional and social skills that an individual needs for successful performance and adaptation in social settings. It’s the behavior, attitudes and understanding that support the development of good relationships and enable children and adults to be successful in tasks involving others.

In John Gottman’s, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, it is found that teaching children to regulate and understand their emotions is important in order to create an emotionally healthy generation. Emotional intelligence, which is referred to as an “IQ” of people and the world of feelings (Gottman 17), contributes to the success of life emotionally, socially, and mentally of oneself. According to Gottman, there are multiple contributing factors that influence a child’s emotional intelligence which are parents and their parenting style, parent’s emotional expression, a parent’s interest or relationship with the child specifically between father and child, and the influences of the parent’s relationship on the child. The