Emotional well-being of preschoolers

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This article explores the concept of emotional well-being in children, emphasizing its critical role in their overall development. Emotional well-being is defined as a balanced state that integrates social, physiological, mental, and emotional factors. The article discusses the key indicators of emotional well-being and the influence of family dynamics in fostering a child's emotional health. It highlights the impact of emotional security provided by adults, particularly parents, in shaping a child's social behavior, self-esteem, and emotional stability. The study also addresses the negative effects of emotional distress on children's ability to form relationships and adjust to social roles.

К eywords: emotional well-being, child development, family dynamics, emotional distress, socialization.

Emotional well-being refers to a stable, emotionally comfortable state in which a child’s social and physiological needs are fully satisfied. It represents a balance between mental and physical sensations, as well as the intellectual and emotional spheres. Such a system is essential for the successful performance of any activity.

Emotional well-being is comprised of several key indicators: ‒ Experiencing pleasure or displeasure during the child’s activities; ‒ Feeling success or failure in their endeavors; ‒ Experiencing comfort or discomfort in terms of external security; ‒ Feeling comfort or discomfort in interactions with others; ‒ Receiving approval or disapproval from others regarding their actions [1, p. 35].

There are three levels of emotional well-being: low, medium, and high. A high level of emotional well-being is characterized by sociability, the ability to form connections, a desire to participate in group activities, the ability to take on leadership or secondary roles, conflict resolution skills, adherence to rules, empathy, attentiveness to others, self-regulation, and appropriate expression of internal states and needs.

A child has a pronounced need for a sense of security, which is provided by adults, particularly parents. This feeling of security is expressed through the care and support of adults, giving the child a sense of protection and invulnerability in the real world. As a result, the child experiences emotional comfort and attachment to the adult. Such attachment promotes the child's confidence in receiving necessary support from the adult.

Emotional comfort is an integral characteristic of a child’s normal relationship with the world («me — world») and a condition for their mental and personal development [2, p. 49]. It arises from positive interactions with parents. In the absence of emotionally positive contact, disturbances in the child’s mental development may occur, especially during infancy and early childhood.

Emotional comfort is built on a sense of basic trust in the world, an active and trusting attitude toward the environment, and a stable positive emotional state. An adult lays the foundation for this state through kind attention, emotional interaction, and creating an emotionally positive environment.

Emotional well-being arises from a sense of belonging to the family, involvement in family affairs, respectful and attentive attitudes, and the maintenance of personal boundaries and respect for the child’s rights. This gives the child a sense of belief in themselves and their abilities. Thus, the child becomes cheerful, self-confident, and kind towards others, leading to full psychological and physical development. In a favorable family environment, the child does not lack mutual love and, in turn, learns to love others. A child surrounded by love and care reproduces these feelings towards family members, which contributes to the development of a psychologically stable and healthy personality.

A. D. Kosheleva notes that the family plays a crucial role in shaping social behavior patterns [3, p. 27]. A child first retains the perceptual image of interactions within the family, accepting it as a model for social contact. Later in life, this model will be the foundation for building relationships with others.

The primary socialization of children within the family, especially in terms of intimacy and trust in parent-child relationships, has no equivalent in other types of informal groups. Even the most perfect educational system cannot provide a child with the same level of parental care and love found in the family.

E. Erickson believed that a stable, positive emotional state in preschoolers is the foundation for their interaction with the world, influencing their perception of family relationships, peer relationships, cognitive and emotional development, and their actions in stressful situations [3, p. 94].

Research into the emotional well-being of children at different ages shows that it manifests not only in a predominantly positive mood but also in the way children experience the results of their actions, successes, and failures, their development of cognitive motivation, the involvement of adults in joint activities, their reaction to adult feedback, their development of self-control, their emotional response to separation from a close adult, and their family situation. In infancy, emotional well-being is defined by a basic sense of comfort, fostering a trusting and active attitude toward the world [4, p. 45]. In older children, emotional well-being contributes to high self-esteem, self-control, an orientation towards success, and emotional comfort both within and outside the family.

Emotional distress impairs the ability to form communications with others and hinders the acquisition of new social roles. Emotional distress includes factors such as a negative mood, a limited range of emotions, and inappropriate reactions to feedback—whether through indifference or aggression, or strong feelings of anxiety and fear.

A consistently negative emotional background leads to the formation of negative attitudes, resulting in motives for withdrawal and reluctance to engage in social connections, ultimately disrupting social development.

Children experiencing emotional distress exhibit qualities such as introversion, fearfulness, insecurity, heightened vulnerability, emotional instability, and inappropriate emotional responses. They may intensely react to certain situations, leading to tantrums, aggression, protests, or persistent states of depression and melancholy.

Specific signs of emotional distress can be identified and formulated as indicators for observation in daily psychological and pedagogical practice: ‒ Excessive emotional sensitivity. Indicators: frequent affective reactions and mood changes, heightened emotional responses. ‒ Inadequate duration of emotions. Indicators: excessively long negative emotions and brief positive emotions. ‒ Intensity of emotional flow. Indicators: apathy or lethargy in activities typical for preschoolers; excessive excitability in behavior. ‒ Emotional stability. Indicators: difficulty transitioning from negative experiences to productive activities. ‒ Prevalence of negative emotions. Indicators: frequent manifestations of fear, sadness, anger, resentment, shame, etc.; a general lowered mood [5, p. 39].

Thus, emotional well-being is the most comprehensive concept for determining the success of a child’s development. It is not dependent on the child’s cultural or individual characteristics but solely on the family’s relational system and can therefore be considered a criterion for the success of parent-child relationships.

References:

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3. Erickson, E. Childhood and Society. — New York: Norton, 1950. — 474 p.
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