What are the Characteristics of Childhood Emotionality?

(а) Children’s emotions are brief.

Young child’s emotions last only a few minutes and then end abruptly. By expressing the emotion, he simply ‘clears’ his system and as a result the emotion lasts for a relatively short time.

(b) Children’s emotions are intense.

Young child’s emotions are marked by intensity which is seldom observed in the emotional reactions of an adult. There are no gradations in the emotional response of a child.

(c) Children’s emotions are transitory.

By transitory we mean shifting and there is shifting of emotions-from tears to smiles-from jealousy to affection. It also means change in emotional reactions.

(d) Children’s emotions appear frequently.

Children’s emotions appear more frequently than those of a typical adult. The reason is that as the child grows older, he has greater ability to make adjustments to situations that justifiably call forth emotional reactions that he had when he was younger and less experienced.

(e) Children’s emotional responses are different.

There is a whole variability in the emotional responses of children. An example will illustrate this-one child in fear will run out of room, another may hide behind his mother’s shirt and so on.

(f) Children express their emotions directly or as they feel them, whereas in adults, the responses are indirect and they know how to hide their emotions.