Emotional Development

Emotional development is programmed to be “wired” through early childhood experiences.

Emotional experiences of newborns and young infants occur most commonly during periods of interaction with a caregiver (such as feeding, comforting and holding).  Infants display distress and cry when they are hungry, cold, wet or in other ways uncomfortable, and they have positive emotions when they are fed, soothed and held.  During this early period, children struggle to control their expression of feelings and thus rely heavily on their interactions associations with their caregiver(s).

The emotional states of toddlers and preschoolers are much more complex.   They must depend on their ever changing and developing minds to interpret their experiences.  They must depend on the foundation of their earlier emotional experiences as newborns and infants.

By the end of the preschool years, children who have a acquired a strong emotional foundation have the ability to anticipate, talk about and use their awareness of their own and others’ feelings to better manage everyday social interactions.

When feelings are not well managed, thinking can be impaired like static on a radio distorting the message.

Differences in temperament lead to different advantages and challenges.

Trauma

Types of exposure

-          Abuse

-          Witnessing domestic Violence

-          Witnessing community violence

-          Accidents

-          Natural disasters

-          Painful medical procedures

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

-          Re-experiencing/reliving traumatic event

-          Avoidance and numbing of responsiveness

-          Increased arousal

-          Personality changes

-          Physiological changes

-          Parent/family dysfunction

When young children are exposed to trauma

-          They depend on adults to protect and keep them safe

-          They depend on adults to make sense of their world

-          Loss of trust is common

-          New fears are common

Developmental issues with young children

-          Reaction varies with age

-          Understanding and processing of death is different at different ages

-          Infants’ reactions will resonate with those of their caregivers

-          Toddlers may feel responsibility and that they may have caused something to happen

Young children with earlier exposure

-          May be reminded about earlier traumatic events

-          May have more severe reaction

-          Reaction will be affected by their parents’/caregivers’ reactions and behavior

-          Reaction may depend on relationships with people who are affected

For more info and additional training on creating a safe environment for traumatized children…

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