Within a few months of birth, you will start noticing that your child’s behaviour has started changing quite rapidly. From the incessantly crying and hungry little newborn, your baby will now be looking around with curiosity, responding to your voices with coos or even showing signs of recognition when you hold him. The emotional development of infants in the early stages of their lives is what unlocks that social skills and makes them understand the different cues of communication and expression in a better way.
Certain reflexes are present in the human body from birth. But a lot of habits that we develop are a result of observing others and understanding how to process what we feel. This, at the very core, is the foundation of emotional development. We may continue to learn these things throughout our lives, but the very basics are picked up in the infancy. Not only does it affect the mental health, it also brings about a different perspective in learning and exploring new things. Getting a hang of your own emotions allows your child to continue moving ahead despite any obstacles or learn to ask for help when needed.
A baby’s emotional development can be understood with stages of growth.
In these early months, your child has just started getting out of the usual groove of crying and peeing and feeding and begun to perceive the existence of a world around him. Everything is completely new for your child and he is taking it all in.
From 18-24 weeks, your child begins to know he is an individual by himself, too. As he discovers the presence of a world and different people, he begins to discover his own hands, and become comfortable with familiar people.
Your toddler has now begun exploring the space around him and understand the nuances of communication. He will not only be able to express a range of emotions in a better way, but also understand the same emotions when expressed by you.
As your child approaches closer to a year, he starts getting the hang of his home and the concept of family. He starts expressing his emotions in a wider variety, engages in carrying out activities himself, and seeks validation and approval from the ones close to him.
Facing problems with emotional development can swing both ways. Your child could tend to not have a handle on his emotions, leading to frequent breakdowns and tantrums. On the other hand, he could be emotionally stunted, and not understand social cues or nuances. This might be confusing for parents since nearly all babies show signs of both spectrums occasionally. They might get angry about a specific thing, or they might retreat into themselves and prefer playing alone.
But problems are usually present if your child continues to be scared and worried all the time. A tiny interaction with a stranger could set him off, leading him to cry for extended durations. This could cause problems for him as he might struggle to sleep and keep waking up with a startle or refuse to feed as well.
Exposure to a new environment or when things do not go as planned or anything unexpected out of the blue could make your child irritated quite a lot. This leads to expressing the irritation in the form of anger or tantrums, which could also involve throwing things around.
On the other hand, your little one could be completely disinterested in anything that’s happening around him. Get him a new toy, or take him to a new place, or teach him a new game, nothing would seem to make any difference. He might seem lethargic, which does not mean he sleeps excessively. But he would not want to move around much or keep staring at his favourite toy without making the effort to go and get it.
Some of these issues can start manifesting in physical form as well. The failure to handle emotions puts undue stress on the body as well which leads to frequent headaches, stomach problems, indigestion, and so on. The lethargy of your child could even hide an illness or a fever which you might discover at a later stage.
Babies learn a lot from the people around them. And you are the role model your child will always look up to, as he learns more about the world and how people behave. Ensure the right emotional development by keeping the environment at home as conducive as possible for it. When everyone at home behaves in the right way, your baby will emulate it by himself at home and also out in the world.