Emotions are cognitive traits, which involve complex psycho-physiological experience of an individual; emotions define human feelings, attitude, behaviors, and perception. Emotions are shaped by biochemical (internal/hereditary) and environmental (external/socialization) factors.
A child’s emotions are believed to be shaped right from conception; the child has some hereditary traits from the parents and goes ahead after birth (Robertson 12-34). This paper explains the meaning of emotion and how it can be demonstrated in children.
Definition of emotions
Emotion is a cognitive attribute which is the product of hereditary and socialization traits; when a child is conceived, there are some traits that he or she gets from the parents; they are emotional factors that can be seen in the child, emotions can be seen in conscious experience, physiological arousal as well as expressive behaviors.
At birth a child, have some traits that he inherits from the parents; every family have some factors that are deep in their system and they have little they can do to them. A child from such a family is likely to have the same traits; for example, there are families that are emotional and cry fast while come families hardly cry. After being exposed to the external environment; there are some emotional attachments that the child gets, it changes the emotions and shapes them accordingly.
How are emotions demonstrated in the lives of young children?
Children emotions are seen in their mood, personality and disposition, temperament, as well as motivation; for example, there are children who when they are crying they only need an adult to hold them and comfort, them, in such children, their emotion are connected with the society and they feel secure with the people.
Alternatively, some children when crying, they can only be comforted by their parents or caretakers; they are emotionally attached to the parents or the caretaker; as the child breast-feed and grows to prenatal stage, skin contact with the mother and this creates a repo and emotional attachments.
At this stage the child gets emotionally attached to people around him and wants to spend time with them; father is encouraged to ensure that at early ages they have skin contacts to develop emotional attachments with their children.
Psychologists recommend that father should hold their children with a bare chest so as they can create needed attachment. The attachment to parents has been portrayed in an experiment with a crying child; when a child who is emotionally attached to their parents is crying without the presence of the parents. then when such a child is lapped with a cloth that has been won and not washed by the parent; the child will be comforted by the scent of the parent and relaxes.
The emotional attachment developed determines the “role model” or the person whom the child will follow for guidance and whom the child will consider right. With the emotional attachment, the child is likely to take up behavior of the person whom he is emotionally connected.
For example, id the child is attached to the mother, he is likely to have repellence behavior to the father at young age and probably the same will follow the child to adulthood. For morally upright child both parents should ensure they create emotional attachment to their children (Fabes 74)
Conclusion
A Child’s emotions can be seen in his/her personality, attitude, behaviors and perception; it is a cognitive attribute which is the product of hereditary and socialization factors.
Works Cited
Fabes, Richard. Emotions and the Family. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Robertson, Donald. The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: Stoicism as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy. London: Karnac, 2010. Print.