Children’s developing emotional skills
Children begin developing emotional skills from birth. Emotional
skills include being able to recognise, express, understand and
manage a wide range of feelings. These skills are important for
children’s developing ability to interact successfully with others
and their physical world. Children who can understand and
manage their feelings, stay calm and enjoy their experiences,
are more likely to develop a positive sense of self and be
confident and curious learners.
Children develop their emotional skills through their relationships
with important others, such as their parents and carers. Babies
move from relying on adults to help them organise and regulate
their emotions (e.g., through adults soothing and calming them
by rocking, patting and holding), to being able to deal with some
of their feelings on their own as toddlers. Supported by their
increased language, thinking, planning and organising abilities,
preschoolers develop more advanced emotional skills such as
being able to wait longer for things they want and having more
understanding of the feelings of others. They also learn to
predict how what they do will affect others (e.g., “You will feel
sad if I don’t let you play with me.”)