Children’s behavior is influenced by their age, and their emotional development. As parents, knowing the emotional development is important, so your children have a healthy mind and able to grow optimally.

 

Emotional development according to children’s age

Every child will undergo emotional development starting from childhood. These phases, if successfully passed, will support children’s learning process, empathic skill, and emotion expression in various situation.

Children also learn to control their negative emotion, like anger, ashamed, and other emotion when facing difficult situation.

In a long term, children with healthy emotional development is more successful when dealing with school chores. They also have the capacity to build a positive interpersonal development with their peer and family members.

 

Birth to 2 Years

During the first two years of life, children undergo many emotional development. During the first few weeks of their life, baby will be more vigilant, and interactive with the people they see every day. During this period, baby develops strong bond with their parents, and start to smile starting at the age of three years old.

Children are more cautious of their surroundings, they will start pondering and develop sense of belonging to the family. Your little one can also show some degree of jealousy when you hold another baby. You do not need to worry, because this is a normal children emotional development.

 

Toddler or preschool (2-5 years old)

When your children are able walk, the true adventure begin. They can explore themselves, and their true characteristics will emerge. Language skill will also develop. Your children can absorb many new words easily, so that they can mention people or items around them easily.

Your children can also express their emotion, one of which is tantrum. During this phase, parents and the nanny need to train children that not everything can be easily obtained. Children need to know that they can say ‘No’ to others, and should accept rejection from others.

 

School period (6–12 years)

During this phase, children is more independent and can socialize. Therefore parents need to plant ethical code, and common rules accepted by the society.

Parents need to compliment their children, so they are more eager to achieve good grade at school. Parents also need to let their children get the consequence of their behavior, so they can learn from their mistake.

 

Adolescent (13- 18 years)

Adolescent is a challenging phase for most parents. Parents notice some changes in their children in terms of the way of thinking, sensitivity, emotion, social interaction and self-awareness. All of these changes are part of the development process.

At the age of 15 years old, most adolescent want to do many things without parents’ involvement. They tend to socialize with their peers. They want to be involved in making decision related to themselves, so parents are encouraged to discuss with their children.

Entering the age of 17 years old, healthy adolescent are able to control emotion and uncomfortable feeling. During this phase, they will develop and strengthen their relationship with close relatives.

Emotional development should happen during both conscious and unconscious phase, so parents need to understand about this phase. Parents need to give positive response towards children’s emotion.

Although emotional development is one out of many aspect of children development, this aspect can not be considered insignificant. The successful of your children is influenced by a healthy mental development, character building and adaptability to situation.

 

 

(NB/ RH)

 

Sumber:

https://www.oxbridgeacademy.edu.za/blog/discover-the-basic-stages-of-a-childs-emotional-development/

http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/emotions/according-experts/emotional-development-childhood

Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDeV, eds. Lewis M, topic ed. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development [online]. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/emotions. Published September 2011. Accessed June 21, 2018.