The Fears of Early Childhood: emotional literacy in the early years

Abstract

This study examined fear and other basic emotions in young children; what emotions and fears are experienced; how they are displayed and perceived; and how adults respond to children's emotion displays. It highlights the voices of children alongside those of parents and caregivers to give a rich picture of children's experiences and how adults respond. It also makes suggestions for educators and parents to help them to guide children in their development of emotional literacy - through validating emotion experiences, offering language and ways of expressing emotions, and working in partnerships between parents, educators and children themselves to facilitate rich emotional development of young children.