A child's emotional development: How a parent can help

Developing a child's emotional development shapes how their child manages their feelings and how they express themselves when they are happy or when they are sad. A parent can help a child's emotional development by:

• Helping their child identify their feelings and talking through ways to deal with different situations

• Talking about how other people have feelings and how their child behaves and treat other may impact on that person's feelings

• Encouraging their child to talk about situations so that their child learns that it is useful to share these thoughts and feelings with someone they trust

• Being looked after by other family members - to help the child become more independent so they are not always relying on mummy and daddy

• Eating meals together as a family - this is quality time where a child could be asked questions about their day and listened to by their parents