Do you ever go through emotions that you find hard to express? Do you often feel emotions that cannot articulate even to yourself, let alone others? If an adult with a well-established channel of communication and people to speak to, feels like they cannot completely put their feelings into words, what do you think would be the case with toddlers who cannot have the medium of a language to express what they feel.

We often assume that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers do not have substantial and intense emotions. There are two reasons for this- one, that no one remembers their infancy and preschool days, and second, is their inability to communicate clearly what they feel. Here are three emotions that toddlers and preschoolers feel, but cannot express.

Intense happiness and distress about ‘INSIGNIFICANT THINGS’

Children often do not perceive reality as practically as an adult. Their priorities might not even seem considerably important to us. This is one of the biggest miscommunications and misunderstandings that arises between a parent and a child. Something as little as a doll can mean the world to them and something as significant as money will not even be a bother for them. This often results in the parent assuming that the child is exhibiting stubborn behavior when they insist on something or get adamant about something that they need. Parents often assume that their children are 'intentionally' troubling them. This creates friction between the two.

Abandonment Or The Fear Of It

Human beings, in the early few years of their lives, are practically incapable of surviving on their own. This is one of the reasons why small children often feel neglected or abandoned when their parents are not emotionally or physically available for them. Adults also feel the need for affection, but children cannot rationalize the situation or empathize with their parents. What makes it so complex is that they are incapable of communicating that need. Sigmund Freud, in his studies about the effects of the infancy of adulthood, says that infants who feel abandoned might grow up to develop the same fear in further relationships. Children require a lot of attention from their parents and teachers.

Comparisons, Inferiority, And Superiority

This is a phase when toddlers become preschoolers and experience the first-ever phase of socializing in their lives. This is the time that they are exposed to people other than their parents and caretakers. This is where the quest for a sense of self begins. Humans do that by comparing themselves to those around them and try to place themselves with respect to that. Even for a child as young as that, this path is full of questions and doubts that they cannot articulate or express. Children in their preschool years go through an intense phase where they are essentially figuring themselves out silently. They begin to understand friendships, jealousy, empathy, and much more. We often fail to recognize anything more than sheer innocence in children, when there is so much more. Our mentors and teachers at Lexicon Kids are trained to perceive children with a complete understanding of what they need at this young age. Understanding each child, not only as a child but as infinite potential is of crucial importance. To enable a child to express themself, making them feel respected, appreciated, protected, and taken seriously are essential.