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Chapter 10: Emotions

Chapter 10
Emotions

Summary

Emotions are the affective response to an event.

The Development of Emotions and Feelings

 Young infants have emotional responses that are not very refined; stirred-up states begin to
differentiate themselves in a few months into the emotions of pleasure, fear, and anger.
 Toddlers express pride, embarrassment, shame, and empathy; adults need to support
toddlers’ efforts to learn to use coping techniques to deal with everyday frustrations.

Temperament and Resiliency

 Temperament, or an individual’s behavioral style, can be discussed in terms of traits, and

understanding these traits can help caregivers respond to children in caring, supportive
ways.
 Resiliency, or the ability to overcome adversity, is viewed as a dynamic process; research
related to it indicates that there are caregiving strategies to promote its development and to
foster lifelong coping skills.

Helping Infants and Toddlers Cope with Fears

 A common fear in the first year is stranger anxiety. Fears become more complex in
toddlerhood and can be related to imaginary creatures, animals, the dark, and threat of
harm.
 It is important to accept fears as valid and to give young children time to adjust to new
experiences.

Helping Infants and Toddlers Cope with Anger

 Respectful caregivers accept and reflect a young child’s anger; they do not contradict what
the child is feeling while they protect the child (and others) as she learns to develop coping
skills.
 Anger can mobilize extra energy to solve problems or release frustration. It is important to
remember that some cultures have different ideas about expressing anger.

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Chapter 10: Emotions

Self-Calming Techniques

 Learning to settle personal emotional upsets is an important skill. Some of these self-
calming behaviors may be innate (for example, thumb sucking) and others can be learned
(for example, sharing feelings).
 The growth of self-calming behaviors is influenced by the development of trust and
supported by caring, social relationships.

Developing Self Direction and Self-Regulation

 Implications from the work of Abraham Maslow and others indicate how important it is for
caregivers to meet the primary needs of very young children in respectful ways if higher-
level needs are to be fulfilled.
 A child’s sense of self direction and self-regulation is nourished by respectful adult-child
relationships.

The Emotional Brain

 Early emotional exchanges (before language) between infants and their caregivers foster
brain growth. Respectful relationships strengthen brain pathways and are the prerequisites
for healthy emotional growth.
 Frequent and intense early stress experiences can cause an infant’s brain to reorganize
itself. Stress hormones are released, causing a reduction of the number of synapses in
certain areas of the brain.

Children with Special Needs: Challenges and Trends

 Five major challenges exist within the early intervention field: the need for a stronger
knowledge base in child development, expansion of the early intervention workforce, more
valid research related to early intervention, more collaboration and evaluation within the
service system, and more sustainable funding.
 Early intervention, early care and education, and infant-toddler care have contributed to a
major trend—the growing public awareness of the importance of the first three years in a
child’s life. The combined strength of these fields should result in more funding initiatives
and program sustainability.

Other In-Class Activities

Temperamental Differences

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Chapter 10: Emotions

Have students break into small groups and report the highlights of their discussion on
temperament. What are some temperamental differences? How does knowing about
temperament help you interact more effectively with very young children?

Strategies for Helping Children Cope with Feelings

Post large pieces of paper around the room, and write one of the following questions on each
paper:
 How can you help calm a fearful eight-month-old child?
 How can you help calm a fearful two-year-old child?
 How would you approach an angry eight-month-old child?
 How would you approach an angry two-year-old child?

Have students walk around and write something under each heading after reading what others
have written.

Personal Experience of Coping with Feelings

In small groups, ask students to talk about how they handle their own feelings. Assign the subject
of anger to half of the groups and the subject of fear to the other half of the groups. Have them
list all their responses—physical, mental, and emotional—and then discuss the positive means
they have found for coping. What kind of help or support from others have they found helpful?
How can they apply their own experience to helping young children feel, accept, and cope with
their emotions? Have each group share the highlights of their discussion with the class. If the
point that all emotions are positive doesn’t come out in the discussion, the instructor should
make that point. Explain to the students that emotions bring attention or energy to an issue or
situation. Emotions have a purpose. They protect us, give us clues about our issues (sometimes
unconsciously), and make us human.

Discussion about Resilience

Ask students to share stories of people they have known that they would classify as “resilient.”
What protective attributes do these people have?

Infants and Toddlers with Emotional Disorders

Have students discuss the guidelines for working with infants and toddlers who have emotional
disorders.

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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Chapter 10: Emotions

The Principles in Action

Have students discuss the feature titled The Principles in Action that goes with this chapter.

Developmental Pathways

Have students discuss the different developmental pathways of Jacob and Megan in the
Developmental Pathways feature in the text.

Reflect Questions

This chapter’s in-text Reflect Questions ask students to consider their own feelings, especially
anger, and also to think about their temperament.

Caregiver’s Companion Reading 10 Discussion

“Helping a Baby Adjust to Center Care” by Enid Elliot (See the questions that follow the article.)

Observation Activities

Observation 10, Self-Observation

Online Learning Center (OLC) Video Observation 10, Child Trying to Get Her Turn in a Swing,
shows a child who is exhibiting some feelings. Observers sometimes feel emotional while
watching it. Students are to watch the clip and note down their own feelings. Students should
then write down a self-reflection of what they felt. The point is that observation should be
objective, and feelings can get in the way of objectivity. Becoming aware of one’s reactions and
writing them down can help the person put those feelings aside and write objective descriptions
and interpretations.

Ask students to discuss the questions that go with the video clip for this chapter. In addition,
consider the following ideas for observation assignments:
 Have students observe infant-toddler settings, and ask them to watch for strategies
caregivers use to help children cope with feelings. They can come up with a list of feelings
and strategies used.
 Have students observe a group of infants or toddlers, and ask them to see if they can pick
out temperamental differences just by observing them.
 Have students observe an infant-toddler setting, and ask them to see if they can find
examples of self-calming behaviors.
 Ask students to use the feature in the text titled Developmental Pathways to look for

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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Chapter 10: Emotions

behaviors showing the development of emotions in a group of infants and toddlers.

Case Study

Students can focus their observations on how the child expresses and copes with feelings.

Reflection Questions

1. What do you know about your own temperament when you were a baby? Do you think you
had a good fit with your caregiver(s)?

2. How would you describe your temperament today? What kinds of babies and toddlers do
you get along with best? Do you think your preference relates to your temperament? Are
you a resilient person? What makes you think you are (or are not)?

3. How were feelings handled in the family you grew up in?

4. What does your family say about expressing anger? What does your culture say about
expressing anger?

5. What coping strategies do you have for dealing with anger?

6. What do you think are the challenges to early intervention? What strategies could you
think of to overcome these challenges in practice?

Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior
written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.