A child’s emotional vocabulary is a set of words that they use to communicate their emotions and reactions to situations. Your child was developing an emotional vocabulary even before they started to speak. The ability to detect and comprehend others’ emotions is critical to a child’s social growth and success.
The term “emotional vocabulary” refers to a set of words that correctly express how you are feeling. As parents, we actively encourage our children to use language to communicate their emotions. However, as adults, we frequently fall short. This is frequently due to the expectation that as adults, we will be more well-adjusted and steady.
Importance of Emotional Vocabulary
Many parents give terms for their children’s strong and common emotions, such as happiness, sorrow, and rage, but we often forget that emotions have a wide and diverse vocabulary. Children require a broader vocabulary to communicate all of their emotions and the ability to interpret clues that indicate other people’s sentiments.
Your kid will be better able to behave correctly if they can read emotional clues to determine how other children react to their attempts to connect with them. It is on this foundation that the capacity to form and sustain friendships is formed.
How Do Children Acquire Emotional Literacy?
Emotional intelligence or emotional literacy is a talent that combines detecting emotions and interpreting and responding to other people’s feelings.
It would be wonderful if reading clues and responding in a socially suitable manner came naturally, but it doesn’t. Some children, such as those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, have a harder time understanding emotions than others and require more intensive instruction.
Activities for Emotional Literacy:
Children learn through instruction, but they also absorb lessons from their surroundings. It’s a good idea to start talking about your own emotions and reactions in a variety of ways. When your computer screen freezes, for example, instead of yelling at it, take a deep breath and say, “I’m so annoyed that this keeps happening to me. If I can’t repair it, I’m concerned I won’t be able to do my task on time.”
- The Purpose of the Activities: To assist your youngster with recognizing and naming a range of emotions.
- Emotional intelligence, verbal communication, and social skills are among the talents targeted.
Strategies to assist your child in developing emotional literacy:
- Make a long list of your emotions.
- Sit down with your child with a large sheet of paper and a marker and brainstorm all the emotions you can think of.
- It’s fine if your list includes feelings that your youngster doesn’t identify.
- Make the expression that corresponds to the emotion and describe a circumstance in which that emotion could arise.
- Make a list of sounds that correspond to your emotions.
Children may not always be able to identify emotions by name, but they may recognize the noises that accompany them. Your youngster may not understand the phrase “worried,” but they may understand that “uh-oh” or the sound of air being pulled in between your teeth evokes the same emotion. Try quizzing your youngster with a sound that may be linked with various emotions, such as a sigh, which is associated with tired, sad, annoyed, and irritated feelings.
Emotional literacy and literacy do not have to be taught separately. Many excellent works deal especially with emotions, yet sentiments may be found in every tale. Ask your youngster to help you figure out what the main character is experiencing in different scenarios when you’re reading to them. To assist you, use the visuals and the narrative as hints.
Play Emotional Charades with your friends:
Playing this game with your youngster is a lot of fun. One of you chooses an emotion to express to the other, either with your entire body or simply your face. Give your child a mirror and ask them to create the same face as you while looking in the mirror if they are having difficulties understanding the faces. They may be able to perceive the emotion on your face more clearly than you do.
Give your youngster some old magazines, paper, scissors, and glue. You may either give them a list of emotions to match faces too, or you can have them build a collage of faces and tell you what emotions they are feeling. Label the feelings and put the collage somewhere where it can be easily accessed once they’re finished.
What are the benefits of having an emotional vocabulary?
When someone asks how we’re doing, it’s vital to acquire an emotional vocabulary since it allows us to respond with more than “good” or “poor.” Giving our sentiments a moral worth (as good or bad) perpetuates shame and guilt, hindering our capacity to detect and acknowledge them.
According to Gail, professional online homework help provider, “Enhancing Emotional Vocabulary in Young Children,” is the interaction between an adult and a student.”
Why is it important to acquire an emotional vocabulary?
When someone asks how we’re doing, it’s vital to acquire an emotional vocabulary since it allows us to respond with more than “good” or “poor.” Giving our sentiments a moral worth perpetuates shame and guilt, hindering our capacity to detect and acknowledge them. Allowing shame and guilt to join us increases our chances of suppressing our emotions and restricting our emotional expression.
The earlier we begin to develop an emotional vocabulary—and it’s never too early or too late to begin—the better our chances of cultivating emotional maturity and inner growth will be.
We know that kids need a strong emotional vocabulary, the cornerstone of a rich emotional vocabulary. Parents must first invest the time required to form healthy relationships with youngsters to teach emotional vocabulary effectively. Teachers must take time to develop these important connections with children, especially as we return to school this fall in the aftermath of a pandemic. Teachers may optimize their impact to improve emotional vocabulary by working within this basic set of a loving and responsive connection with children.
Everett Brooks is a contributing writer to LiveWebTutors. He is a podcaster, style coach and has been a blogger and a professional blogger writing about educational skills, personal development, and motivation since 2010. He operate a team of experts and qualified professionals who provide high-quality Homework Help for USA students.
