Helping toddlers understand emotion key to development

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/msu-htu090115.php

Public Release: 1-Sep-2015
Helping toddlers understand emotion key to development
Michigan State University

The simple parenting strategy of helping toddlers understand emotion may reduce behavioral problems later on, finds a federally funded study led by a Michigan State University researcher.

The study, published in the September issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, could ultimately help those most in need. Toddlers with higher risk, specifically those with more behavioral problems and from the most disadvantaged families, benefited most from being taught about emotion by their mothers.

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Emotion bridging could be especially beneficial for families struggling with multiple stressors including economically disadvantaged families. Very young children in poor families are at greater risk for hearing fewer overall and words within a more limited range compared to children in middle- and upper-income families. As the MSU-led study indicates, mothers who were disadvantaged were engaging in high-quality language experiences with their toddlers.

At minimum, the study says, information on emotion bridging could be made available in pediatric primary care settings as part of bigger efforts to increase and diversify language between parents and young children.