The concern for a child’s health, life and future is a common preoccupation in the minds of all parents. There are exceptions to every rule but as generalizations go, this is a very safe one to make. There would hardly be a parent who would feel indifferent to the prospects of their child’s well-being. However, feeling concerned about something is one thing and taking active steps to ensure it is another.
Babies start developing emotions as early as the age of one to two months. They smile at their parent’s cooing, start responding to gentle touch and begin recognizing their caregivers. At four to five months of age, they are able to express their happiness at being held by their caregiver or their unhappiness when a toy is taken away (Malik, F et al. 2022). Emotional regulation also starts at that age when a gentle response from the caregiver helps them manage stress.
Children start developing an idea of “I” as opposed to “you” in the first year of their lives. This is when the realization that they are individuals, separate from everyone else, begins to form (Hashmi, S. 2025). Along with that come a myriad emotions, both positive and negative. Every child expresses their emotion according to their own personality. This the stage that a child needs to be taught emotional regulation.
Emotional dysregulation can be defined as “emotional expressions and experiences that are excessive in relation to social norms and context-inappropriate; rapid, poorly controlled shifts in emotion (‘lability’) (Shaw, P. et al, 2014); and the anomalous allocation of attention and to emotional stimuli”. Whereas, emotional regulation can be defined as “an individuals’ ability to manage attention, affect, and behavior to meet goals” (Thompson, A. 2019).
Emotional dysregulation in a child can be due to an interplay of various reasons including individual, family, community and societal factors. All of these factors affect a child’s susceptibility. This is an extremely sensitive element in a child’s development as it has been identified as a contributing aspect to adverse effects on a child’s physical and mental health, and well-being throughout their life. Conversely, it has been shown through research that emotional regulation can be predictive of long-term educational accomplishment, including completion of high-school and college.
To assess a child’s emotional regulation, information must be sought from different informants. Usually, that is parents and teachers. Although both of them are the primary sources of such information, their reports can vary drastically. That is because a child may demonstrate completely different behaviours at school and home. They may be feeling safe and comfortable at home while feeling stressed at school because of academic and social challenges. Or they may be feeling more at ease at school with their friends and peers and behaving differently at home where the environment is different. However, it is important to get as much information from different sources as possible to understand their behaviour and to ascertain whether it is a trait (genetic or temperament, enduring) or a state (temporary and situational).
Both caregivers and teachers can help a child learn emotional regulation. In case they find it beyond their capabilities, professional help should be sought. When something is known to have lasting effects on a child’s health, well-being and span all over their life, it cannot be left to chance or the hope that they will grow out of it.
Bibliography
Developmental Stages of Social Emotional Development in Children
Fatima Malik; Raman Marwaha
September, 18. 2022
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534819
Becoming me: How children develop their identity
Hashmi S., 2025
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/becoming-me
Emotion dysregulation: A theme in search of definition
R. A. Thompson
Development and Psychopathology, 31 (3) (2019), pp. 805-815,
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/development-and-psychopathology/article/abs/emotion-dysregulation-a-theme-in-search-of-definition/285C7929814A99EB9E5A1104D21B8407
Emotion Dysregulation in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Philip Shaw, M.B.B.Ch., Ph.D., Argyris Stringaris, M.D., Ph.D., Joel Nigg, Ph.D., and Ellen Leibenluft, M.D.
Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry
Volume 171, Number 3
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13070966
