2.Emotional development involves learning what feelings and emotions are, understanding how and why they happen, recognising one’s own feelings and those of others, and developing effective ways of managing them. 

3.As children grow and are exposed to different situations their emotional lives also become more complex. Developing skills for managing a range of emotions is therefore very important for their emotional wellbeing. Parents and carers have an important role to play in supporting children’s emotional development. They do this through responding effectively to children’s emotions, through providing examples of how they manage feelings, and through talking with children about feelings and how to manage them. In similar ways, school staff can provide important support for children’s emotional development. 

4. 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.

5. Very young children’s emotions are mainly made up of physical reactions (eg heart racing, butterflies in stomach) and behaviours. As they grow, children develop the ability to recognise feelings. Their emotions are also increasingly influenced by their thinking. They become more aware of their own feelings and better able to recognise and understand other people’s. Thus, an emotional reaction of a 10-year-old is likely to be far more complex than that of a three-year-old. The experience of emotion includes several components:

6. Many things influence the ways that children express emotions, both through words and behaviour. These influences include: 

7. Every child is different

8.There are a number of reasons why children vary in the way they express and manage their emotions. These variations may be due to events that impact on children and families at times, such as severe or chronic illness, trauma, or difficult social circumstances. Variations in children’s emotional expression may also be influenced by specific family or cultural values and by differences in children’s temperaments. 

9. Children learn different ways of expressing emotion based on what is regarded as normal within their family and culture. Some families and cultures encourage children to express a range of emotions while other families encourage children not to display certain emotions, such as anger or pride. These differences also influence the ways children learn to regulate their emotions.

Learning to regulate emotions is more difficult for some children than for others. This may be due to their particular emotional temperament. Some children feel emotions intensely and easily. They are more emotionally reactive and find it harder to calm down. Some of these children react to frustration by getting angry. They may act impulsively and find it hard to control their emotions. Some children who are emotionally reactive get anxious more quickly and easily than other children. It is often difficult for children with anxious temperaments to develop strategies to manage their fears. They often try to avoid situations that worry them.

10. During the primary school years, children’s sense of self is strongly influenced by the extent to which they see themselves as performing well, both at school and in other activities. This affects their emotional development. Knowing that they can be successful at what they do leads children to feel competent and confident. When children have few experiences of success, they often have to cope with disappointment and may come to view themselves in negative ways. By learning to value their own strengths and efforts, as well as those of others, children develop the emotional resilience needed to manage disappointments and frustrations. Parents and carers can support children’s wellbeing and emotional development by showing understanding of their feelings and by offering encouragement and specific praise for children’s efforts