The importance of emotional education in childhood and adolescence

It is clear that almost all human beings experience emotions. Regardless of whether we express it more or less or whether we live them in a very intense or rather moderate way, emotions are a basic component of our day to day life.

Of course, this is not a bad thing; on the contrary, our emotional side is there because it has been indispensable for the survival of our lineage for hundreds of thousands of years. However, it is one thing to experience emotions and another is to know how to manage them in a way that let's get the most out of it... and this is something we can learn to do at almost every stage of our life.

In this sense, emotional education in childhood is a fundamental process to develop a good relationship with our emotions from our childhood, and that is why every time it charges more importance in all educational settings, from schools to parenting and mothers.

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What is emotional education?

Let's start by defining the concept of emotional education: it is about the human activity of training in informing about the theoretical and practical aspects related to emotions, both in their detection and recognition and in their management and expression.

In other words, being an emotionally educated person means having a certain domain in the identification and management of emotions, something that can apply both to oneself and to dealing with others.

It is true that human emotionality is very complex and that the management of emotions has a limit; However, this does not mean that emotional education is impossible or that it cannot be applied to children and adolescents. Part of this educational process involves recognizing one's own limitations and not trying to totally control our emotions. and those of others; and on the other hand, the way in which they are educated always implies taking into account their age and degree of maturity.

That is why emotional education is very important already in early childhood, so that the most children of the house have a guide and support from their first contacts with the management of the emotions.

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Benefits of emotional education in childhood and adolescence

The emotional equation applied to childhood is not an incomplete or flawed version of emotional education by the simple fact that a child does not have a great capacity for abstract thinking or reasoning; on the contrary, precisely because the little ones have fewer resources to understand how they feel and what they can do with their affective statesIt is important to help them in this process of self-discovery that they will carry out anyway, with or without our support.

With that in mind, the main benefits of emotional education are as follows.

1. Helps prevent dysfunctional or psychopathological ways of managing emotions

From what we have seen so far, it can already be seen that the fact of being in front of a very young child is not an excuse to dispense with emotional education; the fact of having only a few years of life is, in any case, one more reason to strive to emotionally educate the child.

Ultimately, the lessons learned in childhood will greatly influence their physical and psychological development. later, and the influence of the way in which we handle emotions in this early stage extends to the stage adult.

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2. Helps them differentiate emotions

Knowing how to distinguish between emotions is essential to know how to give them an adequate way out, without adopting problematic strategies that not only do not help to relieve tension but can even increase discomfort or discomfort at certain key moments.

3. Supports empathizing

It is one thing to feel empathy for someone and another thing to do so without misinterpreting their emotions and feelings. Emotional education helps them connect better with their friends, avoiding misunderstandings.

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4. It helps them to reinforce their self-esteem in moments of vulnerability

Emotional education implies knowing that you are vulnerable to certain painful experiences, and that you do not speak ill of yourself feeling very bad in those contexts. Therefore, this process protects self-esteem and prevents the youngest from feeling guilty for believing themselves too "weak".

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5. It predisposes them not to give in to tantrums

From childhood it is possible to learn not to explode through anger in the face of any setback. Know how to accept a disappointment and not let frustration totally paralyze them each time it occurs it will help them to accept a good part of the unpleasant moments of the day by focusing on problem solving.

• You may be interested in: "Child tantrums: why they appear and how to manage them"

Are you looking for professional psychological support for children and families?

If you want to have psychology professionals trained to care for adults, children and adolescents with all the guarantees, get in touch with us.

On Psychotools We can help you whether you are a person seeking individualized psychotherapeutic assistance for a problem that affects you, such as if you are interested in starting a child-adolescent therapy process or are looking for advice for parents and mothers. We offer face-to-face sessions (in our office located in Barcelona) or online by video call.