{"id":43973,"date":"2022-03-08T12:42:38","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T17:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/?p=43973"},"modified":"2022-03-14T15:16:15","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T19:16:15","slug":"emotional-literacy-and-early-childhood-recognizing-ones-emotions-to-live-better-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/magazine\/holistic-health\/emotional-literacy-and-early-childhood-recognizing-ones-emotions-to-live-better-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Emotional literacy and early childhood: recognizing one\u2019s emotions to live better together"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUPPORT AND CARING<\/span> \u2014 <\/i><\/span>Emotional literacy is defined as a person\u2019s ability to identify, name, and communicate their emotions. If a person develops this facet of their emotional intelligence, they will be more capable of analyzing their experience instead of being reactive. They will be more responsible for themselves, less accusative of others, and more empathetic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

AN EMOTION AND ITS NEED<\/h3>\n

To understand why and how to develop your emotional intelligence, we first need to clarify what an emotion is. For this, let\u2019s use a metaphor that relates to an experience common to everyone: that of the rumbling stomach.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No one is surprised to hear a newborn cry when they\u2019re hungry. We don\u2019t get the idea to say to them: \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to cry. Stop that now!\u201d An unpleasant sensation invades their little body and bothers them, so they cry. The parent decodes the tears and the situation, identifies the baby\u2019s need, and prepares to feed them while reassuring them: \u201cOh! You\u2019re hungry! Don\u2019t worry. The milk is coming.\u201d Thanks to these precious and repeated interventions by the adult, the child gradually learns to calm down and integrate the connection between their stomach aches and their hunger. They learn to tolerate the delayed satisfaction of their need and, ultimately, to communicate it: \u201cI\u2019m hungry. I want milk.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An emotion is like a rumbling stomach! An emotion is a signal sent by our body to share a need with us and to push us to act to meet it. Antoine cries when dad leaves him at daycare? His brain detects an unmet need for security and urges him to find an environment and a caring person to look after him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

EMOTIONAL REGULATION\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Faced with the arrival of an emotion, we must perceive our physical sensations, identify our thoughts, recognize the emotion that is manifesting itself, decode the underlying need, control our behaviour in order to express ourselves appropriately, and find the action that will allow us to meet this need. Quite a challenge! Even for an adult\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The child will therefore require long years of learning and practice, with the kind help of the people around them, who will accompany them through the maturation of their brain, which is initially incapable of such an exercise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This process is still very complex for many adults, who often didn\u2019t acquire it during childhood. They are sometimes learning it at the same time as they try to teach it to their children.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s see how, specifically, we can replace a temper tantrum punctuated by \u201cYou\u2019re mean, mom!\u201d with a more melodious \u201cI\u2019m angry and frustrated that I didn\u2019t get that toy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

AT HOME<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

First tip:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Validate the emotions that the child is experiencing.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cI can hear that you\u2019re really angry because I told you \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cI see that it makes you sad not to go out with us tonight\u201d to replace \u201cWe\u2019ll be back tonight. You\u2019ll have lots of fun with the babysitter. Be a big boy and stop crying.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cYou were scared! Yes, it\u2019s true. It\u2019s surprising when a dog suddenly starts barking!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Second tip:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    Set an example!<\/span><\/p>\n

    Naming our own emotions and presenting our personal methods of regulation when talking to our child allows for learning through imitation.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • \u201cI\u2019m irritated when I have to repeat the same instructions several times. I\u2019ll try another strategy to help you understand my request.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • \u201cI\u2019m so angry that I might say things I don\u2019t really think! I need a moment to myself to breathe and calm down. I\u2019m going to the balcony, and I\u2019ll come back after.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Third tip:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

      Teach emotional vocabulary.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Expanding our vocabulary related to the emotions lets us bring some nuance to the intensity of the emotion experienced. Indeed, there are about five basic emotions(six with disgust), which are expressed differently according to the intensity of their manifestation. For example, under anger, frustration is less intense than rage. Fear is experienced differently when we feel worried vs. terrified.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Fourth tip: <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Practise when emotions are calm.<\/span><\/p>\n

      We can play with identifying emotions in everyday life, in relational situations, or through the emotions of characters in games or various cultural products. It\u2019s also important to select movies, books, games, and cartoons that teach children different emotions.<\/p>\n

      \u201cHow does this character feel? Are they scared, angry, or happy? How did you guess that? Show me how you are when you feel happy!\u201d<\/p>\n

      Beyond all the tips that you can read and attempt to apply, the key to having the necessary availability to take an interest in your child\u2019s inner world is to take care of your own emotions. <\/b>It\u2019s essential to focus on your own feelings, be kind to yourself throughout this process, and seek out support if you feel the need.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/h3>\n

      FROM A SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVE\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

      In addition to what can be done at home to promote emotional literacy, society has an important role to play in this education. As the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      First tip: <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Expose children to emotional material.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      This is about increasing access to material related to the emotions in all areas of the child\u2019s life, whether it\u2019s at daycare, at school, or elsewhere in the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Put up posters that illustrate the emotions using emoji-style images, cartoon characters, or a graduated emotion wheel.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Provide the child with educational games related to the emotions (like Emotion Planet), books (like The Rabbit Listened<\/i>), movies (like Inside Out<\/i>), etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Second tip:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        Train and equip the people who work with children to validate and welcome their experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        • The phrase \u201cBe a big girl, don\u2019t cry\u201d should be replaced with \u201cYou\u2019re sad that mom is gone, but she\u2019ll come back to pick you up after nap time.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • During a conflict between children, focus on how the other one feels and encourage thinking about each person\u2019s feelings. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d will therefore become \u201cWhat made your friend feel sad?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Third tip:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

          Introduce programs in schools and daycares such as DeStress for Success <\/i>and Roots of Empathy<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

          In short, the more we teach children to understand what is happening inside themselves, the less reactive they will be and the more able they will be to have respectful interactions and be empathetic. And by teaching this, adults will benefit from it, too!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          READINGS TO LEARN MORE\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Parler pour que les enfants \u00e9coutent, \u00e9couter pour que les enfants parlent<\/i>, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, from \u00c9ditions du Phare\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
          • From \u00c9ditions Marabout, the works of Isabelle Filliozat, including Au coeur des \u00e9motions de l\u2019enfant, J\u2019ai tout essay\u00e9 ! Opposition, pleurs et crises de rage : traverser la p\u00e9riode de 1 \u00e0 5 ans, and Il me cherche ! Comprendre ce qui se passe dans le cerveau de votre enfant entre 6 et 11 ans\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
          • The Filliozat activity books, intended for children, but with guide pages for parents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            SUPPORT AND CARING \u2014 Emotional literacy is defined as a person\u2019s ability to identify, name, and communicate their emotions. If a person develops this facet of their emotional intelligence, they will be more capable of analyzing their experience instead of being reactive. They will be more responsible for themselves, less accusative of others, and more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":43968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6302,1976],"tags":[2571,6048,6047,2574],"class_list":["post-43973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-favourite-articles","category-holistic-health","tag-enfant-en","tag-family","tag-kid","tag-parent-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43973"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44122,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43973\/revisions\/44122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}