Essential Points You Should Know about Your Toddler’s Emotional Development
The growth and development of the toddler is a very important stage in his life, as all he feels, goes through emotionally, physically and mentally will have a lasting effect on his adulthood as well. The toddler between the ages of 12 and 36 months develops emotionally. Even when he is throwing tantrums, it is just the manifestation of the toddler’s emotional development, and though a crying 2-year old may be awkward in the grocery store, it is an essential step.
How Does The Toddler Develop Emotionally?
There may be differences between the individual emotional development of toddlers, though here are some characteristics, as a basic guideline. From the age of 12 months, toddlers will start mimicking actions, for example covering the eyes, while playing Peekaboo, and later such parental activities as cleaning up or using the phone.
The toddler will increasingly want to be independent , and will start throwing tantrums from around 18 months. He will also be able to convey his basic feelings, using gestures, and express his own individual selfhood by crying, referring to and recognizing his self. From the age of two the toddler will be more and more self-centered, be possessive, as establishing his sense of personal identity is quite hard, he will also be frustrated sometimes, expressing this frustration in the tantrums.
He will become increasingly responsive to humor but not to discipline or reason. By the age of 3, the toddler will feel more secure, established in a personal identity, with a more easy-going attitude. With this established sense of his selfhood, the toddler will show certain preferences, in clothes for example and will enjoy music.
How To Support The Toddler’s Emotional Development?
As especially the age of two years is quite a sensitive phase in the toddler’s emotional development, your child may need your indirect support. Try to label his emotions, by this, he will be able to understand exactly what he is feeling.
Tell your child when you are feeling upset by their behavior, and use ’I’ statements rather than third person ’Mommy is really angry now’ statements, as this creates a more direct relationship between the two of you. When your child is going through one of the emotional storms or is constantly saying no to everything, try not to discipline him harshly, as they are not really responsive to rules and discipline in this age.
These tantrums will disappear by themselves, and when trying to stop them, use distraction and humor rather than harsh rules, they will pass anyway, by the time the child is more confident of his own identity. Remember to establish intimacy with your child, by this, giving him the emotional capacity to establish intimacy in the course of his later life. It is also highly important to remember that your child will mirror your emotional states to an extent and thus, if you are having emotional difficulties, try to get over these as they can cause problems to your child as well.
