Emotional Devleopment In Children

Emotional development is a major factor in the overall development of a child. It is believed that emotional and social development are very closely entwined. Child experts and psychologists agree that emotions are vital in a child's life and to be able to promote a healthy social development a child must learn how to correctly find solutions to interpersonal problems.

Moreover, research shows when parents display higher levels of warmth and positive interaction children are more likely to exhibit social competence, higher self-esteem, and emotional understanding.

Play is an important part of emotional-social development. Play can act as a way for children to reveal their innermost feelings and express thought. As defined by the text, play is "voluntary activities done for enjoyment or recreation that are not performed for any sake beyond themselves." Children move through different levels of play as they mature. One form of play which scientists have become increasingly interested in is imaginative play. With imagination children learn how to be creative. Many children between ages 3-5 create imaginary friends for themselves.

Though play is often accepted and encouraged by western industrialized cultures it often times is not accepted by families of other cultures. Parents of such westernized cultures tend to support freedom of expression, independence, individuality, etc., known as individualism. On the other hand many Asian parents tend to support collectivism. Collectivism is a view where children are brought up with a strong emotional bond with their parents. It is important for a teacher to learn and understand the different cultures within her classroom. Many different cultures have different customs and beliefs than ones own.

Emotional development is very important in a developing child's self esteem. There are many factors that can affect and influence a child's self-esteem. Ones own sense of self, how we define ourselves, helps us direct and respond to our own behavior. When a child is able to identify their own sense of self they are able to view themselves as able to produce outcomes. Another influence on self-esteem is ones self-concept or self image, "the image one has of oneself."

One aspect of self is that of ones gender. Acquiring gender identification is a very important step in a child's development. How a child develops their gender identity ("the conception people have of themselves as being male or female" has much to do with their upbringing and parental influences. Hormonal influences can also play a large part in gender behavior, as well as social influences. The text mentioned four existing theories on the progression of children becoming psychologically