Emotional Development Between 0-12 Years
The emotions experienced during this age period are listed below.
Topic Titles
Crying
Emotions start to be seen in the baby from the moment they are born. The baby shows its first reaction by crying after birth. The baby tries to express its discomfort by crying when its diaper is wet, when it is cold, when it is in pain, and when it is hungry. Crying is the most powerful way for the baby to express its needs. As the baby grows, the crying gains meaning. It starts to cry when its mother is away, when it is separated from the familiar environment, and when it sees unfamiliar people.
During infancy, babies have four different crying patterns. Crying due to hunger, crying due to anger, crying due to pain, and crying due to distress. When babies reach two months old, they can cry not only because of their physiological needs but also, for example, when their toy is taken away from them. During this period, a type of crying called “irregular crying” occurs and babies cry to obtain a desired object or event. As they grow up, crying turns into a more controlled and used tool to convey a message.
Especially in early childhood, emotional reactions increase and the child begins to experience almost all of these emotions. Due to the negativity he/she has experienced, he/she shows his/her reaction by crying. When experiencing a negativity while playing with friends, when unable to achieve a desired object or event, or when faced with failure, he/she always shows his/her reactions by crying. If a child starting school, which is a social environment, experiences adjustment problems during this period, he/she also shows his/her distress by crying. During adolescence, he/she may have crying spells for various reasons. This condition is more commonly seen in girls who are more inclined to express their emotions.
Another emotional and social response of the baby is smiling. Smiling, which is the clearest indication that the baby is enjoying, becomes more prominent within the second month after birth. Wolff observed responses resembling smiling in eight babies within 2-12 hours after birth. eştir. Sevgi, insanların birbirlerine olan derin ilgi, saygı ve bağlılık duygularını ifade eder. Sevgi, insan ilişkilerinin temelinde yer alır ve mutlu, sağlıklı bir yaşam için hayati öneme sahiptir. Sevginin birçok farklı türü vardır, aile sevgisi, romantik sevgi, arkadaşlık sevgisi gibi. Sevgi, insanların birbirleriyle bağ kurmasını, güven duygusunu güçlendirmesini ve birlikte güzel anılar yaratmasını sağlar. Sevgiyle beslenen ilişkiler, karşılıklı anlayış ve destekle güçlenir ve sürdürülebilir hale gelir. Sevgi, insanların kendilerini değerli ve sevilen hissetmelerini sağlayarak özgüvenlerini artırır. Aynı zamanda sevgi, empatiye ve hoşgörüye dayalı bir yaşam tarzını benimsemeyi öğretir. Bu nedenle, sevgiyle dolu bir yaşam, mutluluk ve huzurun anahtarını taşır. sensendir. From the moment a baby is born, they feel the need to be loved and protected. Because among living creatures, there is no other being as dependent on love and attention as a human infant. Love, especially in infancy and childhood, is crucial for healthy development.
During infancy and childhood, the need for a mother’s love is the greatest. During this period, the baby is completely passive and the only thing they need is love. Children whose physiological needs are met but their need for love is not fulfilled, suffer from its absence intensely during adulthood. Scientific studies have shown that children who grow up deprived of maternal love and attention are more prone to committing crimes. The absence of maternal love and attention during the period of basic trust can even lead to childhood depression. Love is a very important emotion that brings people closer to each other.
Another emotion experienced during this period is fear. Fear is a natural response to visible or invisible dangers that living beings encounter. Fear is a natural response. The fears experienced during infancy are not learned and are unconscious. During this period, babies are more afraid of darkness, loud noises and bright lights, being left alone, experiencing pain, being lifted up high, and unfamiliar people or objects. When they are afraid, they also exhibit certain reactions. They may try to escape, scream, shout, close their eyes, or cry in response to the object, event, or person they are afraid of. The predominant feeling behind the fears experienced during infancy is a sense of insecurity. Until the age of two, when a baby is scared, they either cling to their mother or try to find safety by hiding behind an object after they start walking.
Newborn babies have been observed to exhibit more fear responses compared to older babies and children. According to Watson, newborn babies experience two types of fear: fear of loud sounds and fear of feeling empty.
Fears increase with age. Especially between the ages of 3-6, there is an increase in fears. They increase. As a child grows up, their fears show more cognitive characteristics. Especially children who have not experienced a sense of trust, who have been raised without love and affection, frightened children (scared of darkness, monsters, giving money to beggars, etc.), children raised in an oppressive and authoritarian attitude, children who grow up in a violent family environment and are exposed to violence, children who watch movies with violence and fear content, threatened children tend to fear more.
Since fear is a learned emotion, it is important for parents to set a good example for their children. If a child sees their mother screaming and climbing onto the table because of the fear of a mouse, they will mimic the same behavior and learn to fear mice. Therefore, parents should not show such fears to their children.
Firstly, it is necessary to determine why the child is afraid and to convey the message that their own concerns are valued. It is important to convey the message that they are not alone and that their parents are by their side. To make a child feel safe, they should be touched with a gentle tone of voice and logical explanations should be made about their fears to help them relax. The child should not be mocked about their fear and should not be confronted with the object or situation they fear. Fear should not be used as an educational tool, excessive pressure should not be applied, and they should not be allowed to watch horror movies.
It is very important to investigate whether the fear the child is experiencing is a product of their developmental stage or if there is a specific situation causing the fear. If long-lasting and increasingly intense fears that have turned into phobias emerge, the support of a specialist (psychological counselor, pedagogue, or child psychiatrist) should be sought.
Anger
Anger is a highly natural and healthy emotion when expressed appropriately. When it becomes uncontrollable and turns into a destructive state, anger can negatively affect an individual’s family, work, school, in short, their whole life. It is a type of excitement that is even commonly seen in infancy. What a person wants to do can vary significantly The inability to do something, the restriction and prevention of movements, taking away toys, forcing to take a bath, pressuring to eat, demanding and forceful toilet training, feeling jealous of siblings, unfulfilled needs of the child, and excessive protectiveness of the parents can lead to anger outbursts in children. During this period, the child’s anger outbursts are very brief. Anger soon gives way to a cheerful and happy atmosphere.
In the preschool period, as the child’s language development reaches the desired level, they begin to express their emotions verbally rather than using body language. The child, who starts to better understand situations that make them angry and upset, learns that they can draw attention and easily get what they want by getting angry. When they cannot get what they want, they cry, tantrum, hit their head on the floor, break things, and express their anger outwardly.
In the school age, the child who understands both positive and negative emotions better begins to respond slowly, They also learn to control their aggressive feelings. Especially when they get angry, they can control their behavior because they are aware of the reactions that people around them might give. One reason for anger outbursts seen in school age could be a reaction to the academic difficulties they experience.
Parents have a great responsibility in preventing their children’s anger outbursts from escalating. In fact, the healthiest thing that can be done is to identify the situations that cause the child’s anger. Once the cause is found, finding solutions will be easier. Children should be taught ways to express their desires, feelings, and thoughts in a more moderate way rather than in the form of anger outbursts. Engaging them in creative activities or sports will be beneficial.
Parents should be patient, knowing that negative attitudes and tantrums are temporary, but they should also avoid doing everything the child wants in order to eliminate anger in the child. The anger at this age is actually the effort of the child to establish a place for himself in the social environment he lives in. Therefore, knowing that anger cannot be resolved with unnecessary pressure, coercion, or threats, and helping the child calmly without getting angry is the most appropriate behavior. However, if the child’s anger tantrums still persist despite all supportive efforts, it would be beneficial for both the child and the parents to seek professional help.
Jealousy
Jealousy, which is a universal emotion experienced by all people, can create positive or negative effects depending on its intensity. This emotion, which arises when a loved person or object is not desired to be shared with someone else or when a loved one shows more interest in someone else, requires professional support if it is experienced to extreme points and has reached a level that harms the other person or the individual themselves.
There is no jealousy response in a newborn baby. However, a baby may start to show signs of jealousy when they see their mother holding another When a child sees a new baby, they display jealousy reactions. The attention of the parents being directed towards someone else or another child causes jealousy to emerge during this period. Especially when a new sibling is born during early childhood and the conscious or unconscious discriminatory behaviors of the mother or father can lead to jealousy.
Jealousy is more commonly seen in children between the ages of 2-3 and 10-12. Jealousy, which essentially stems from insecurity, prevents children from establishing positive and balanced relationships with themselves and the people around them.
Children who experience this feeling intensely feel disappointed when the attention they are accustomed to is directed towards someone else and they feel feelings of resentment, anger, hatred, and the desire for revenge towards the person who takes away their attention. Sometimes, they exhibit even worse and negative behaviors in order to regain the lost attention.
As the child’s social environment changes, the people they feel jealous of also change. During the school period, they may feel jealous of individuals who are more successful, loved, or in leadership positions. The child who is jealous of their friends who possess qualities and are popular, accuses their friends of wrongdoing in order to attract their teacher’s attention and gain favor, and may even tell lies.
In order to prevent these negatives, parents need to pay attention to their attitudes and behaviors towards their child. The child’s need for love and attention should be adequately met and given in a timely manner. It should be remembered that each child has unique qualities, and comparisons should not be made between children. In schools, teachers should also avoid behaviors that may cause children to envy each other.
Stubbornness
It is the insistence of an individual on an action or event without a valid, reasonable, or acceptable reason. This situation is more intense between the ages of 3 to 6, when the child becomes aware of their own existence and resists the stimuli from their surroundings in order to have it accepted by others. Stubbornness observed at these ages is considered a normal developmental characteristic. Aggression is the passive form of behavior. The mother’s contribution, even if she is unaware, plays a role in the emergence of this situation. Especially between the ages of 0-2, if the mother’s insistence on toilet training and feeding becomes negative and strict, it can lead to the formation of a stubborn demeanor in the child.
Meeting the child’s needs in a timely manner, avoiding arguments when angry and irritable, and not adopting an authoritarian and oppressive approach will reduce stubbornness in the child. During moments of stubbornness, the child’s attention should be diverted to other things, and the child’s desires should be fulfilled when they exhibit normal behavior, not when they are being stubborn.
Shyness
The hiding behavior of one-year-old babies when they see a stranger is considered to be the beginning of the feeling of shame. As the child reaches the age of two, this behavior starts to disappear and the shy reaction in the baby begins to fade. Children who lack self-confidence tend to display a shy attitude. They are afraid of doing or saying something wrong, and they are hesitant to express themselves. they feel ashamed to ask. Giving constant suggestions to children such as “Everyone loves smart children,” “Be obedient and everyone will praise you” can cause the child to become shy.
To eliminate shyness; it is necessary not to put too much pressure on the child, to focus more on positive behaviors than on wrong behaviors, and to reward these behaviors. The child’s self-confidence should be provided by meeting their needs in a timely manner and by giving them responsibilities they can handle on their own.
Aggression
It is a negative reaction that occurs more as a response to the feeling of being hindered in a child and is seen as harming objects or others around them because they cannot suppress their negative emotions. While aggression is a result of human nature, individuals learn to control this impulse and make it acceptable within society.
The attitudes of parents play an important role in the formation of this reaction. Because if the child perceives beatings, violence, and aggression as normal behavior within the family, it The rate of exhibiting aggressive behaviors increases even more. Additionally, individuals who are genetically predisposed to have aggressive personality traits tend to show this reaction excessively. Essentially, aggressive children are those who lack self-confidence. They may exhibit aggressive behaviors to seek attention and prove themselves.
When a child displays aggressive behavior, it is important to discuss with them the consequences of such behavior, encourage them to channel their energy in a positive way, not fulfill their every demand just because they are becoming aggressive, and never respond to aggressive behavior with aggression. It should not be forgotten that mass media, especially television and computer games, reinforce aggression, therefore children should not be enslaved by television and computers.
All of the emotions mentioned above begin to be experienced by individuals in accordance with the characteristics of the developmental period between 0-12 years old. In subsequent periods, there may be an increase or decrease in their intensity depending on the characteristics of each period. k exists until the end of life.