Emotions are essential to respond and adapt to the environment. In parallel with the cognitive development of people, there is a progressive awareness and a learning emotions own and others.
From 3 months of age, children are able to differentiate and express a wide emotional repertoire: from joy to sadness, through anger, fear, surprise, etc. He appropriate management of emotions It contributes decisively to mental well-being.
What is psychoemotional development?
It is the process through which the person forms their identity, self-esteem and security, trust in themselves and in the surrounding world. It is done through interaction with similar others, recognizing oneself as a unique and different person. Throughout this process, the child learns to distinguish emotions, manage them, express them and control them.
Stages of child emotional development
Up to 3 months
A newborn has basic survival emotions: crying, interest and disgust.
Around one month of age they detect emotions in other people such as joy and anger.
The social smile makes its appearance around 3 months.
Between 4 and 8 months
At around 4 months, he laughs when he comes into contact with his toys and learns to differentiate between angry and sad gestures.
Towards the fifth month he begins to show interest in other stimuli.
Already in the sixth month he openly expresses his joy, shouts and laughs when we play with him.
The following month we can recognize anxiety when faced with unknown stimuli. The baby begins to distinguish positive emotions from negative ones.
And around the eighth month, fear and guilt appear.
From 1 to 3 years
Already throughout the first year, the child begins to develop empathic skills. For example, he may start crying if she sees other children doing so.
At two years old, he is already able to imitate the facial expression of basic emotions such as happiness or sadness.
Around the age of 3, he recognizes people by the emotional relationship he has with them, playing, feeding, walking, etc.
Between 4 and 6 years
At 4 years old, language allows you to discover and understand reality, communicate experiences, needs and feelings.
During this period, emotional awareness develops, the fact of being aware of what you feel and why you feel it.
It is the stage in which emotional regulation arises, which is of enormous importance in these years. For its development it uses symbolic play, in which it can adopt different roles and different emotional states.
Around the age of 6, the progressive abandonment of egocentrism is completed and the relationship with peers becomes relevant. Emotions become more intense and complex as the person’s social dimension grows.
From 6 to 9 years
At 6 years old, anger is already due to more reasoned and mature causes. They are aware of injustice, criticism, misunderstanding and rejection.
Their social world expands and they experience more emotional experiences. His emotional self-control is developing.
Around the age of 9, there is greater reserve in the emotions expressed and a better understanding of their feelings and those around them.
The perception of friendship evolves and they increasingly value trust and collaboration.
Between 9 and 12 years old
The turmoil of early childhood is left behind. A greater emotional balance is achieved.
From 12 years old
A stage characterized by the experience of opposite feelings, such as love-hate. It is an emotionally turbulent period.
They become more reserved about expressing their emotional world. They discover feelings that they had not experienced yet, such as love.
The child’s body becomes an adolescent, discovering sexuality. The development of thinking skills related to abstract concepts represents a revolution in her relationship with others, including her parents.
The path opens to the search for your own personal identity. Between the ages of 14 and 17, a phase of detachment from parents usually appears, which will materialize in a redefinition of their relationship, a prelude to future independence.
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