As we move further and further along in our adult lives, we begin to learn so much more about ourselves; and come to understand why we are the way we are and why we act the way we act. They say everything stems from childhood, but what does this mean for us as parents when we bring our little ones into the world?

When looking to understand more about our children’s emotional well-being, how we can encourage their emotional security is one of the most talked about topics in this area. But before we look into how we can do this, let’s first understand why this is so important.

Why is it important to encourage emotional security in my child?

Childhood shapes who our children will eventually grow up to be. As psychologists have discovered in the past few decades, what happens to a person during their very early years of childhood is crucial in terms of shaping their sense of self, their relationships with others, and how they view the world overall as adults. Therefore, finding ways in which we can encourage emotional security in our little ones is one of the most important parts of being a parent to a tiny toddler.

An emotionally secure toddler will become an emotionally secure preschooler. Not only will creating an emotionally secure toddler ensure that they have easier and more successful adult lives, but it will ensure that they have more harmonious relationships with children as they move through all stages of their childhood. They will also have fewer behavioural problems.

The attachment style a child develops will affect them in later life. The extent to which a parent is able to create healthy emotional security in their child will contribute to what attachment style they develop, whether that be anxious or secure. Therefore, it’s really important that the parent makes efforts to create healthy emotional security in their little one early on.

Securely attached infants will be better able to approach developmental tasks. Another important point for why it’s so crucial that parents make efforts to create an emotionally secure child is because they will be better able to approach developmental tasks in later years. This means that they will approach tasks they will face in the future with a lot more ease, competence and persistence than those who lean more towards being anxiously attached.

Now that we’ve delved into why encouraging emotional security in your child is so important let’s talk about some ways in which you can do this.

How can I encourage emotional security in my child?

Set clear and firm guidelines and give emotional responsiveness. Experts say that a healthy mix of setting clear, firm guidelines and giving emotional responsiveness will raise an emotionally secure child. Remember that it may take you time to evaluate how to properly measure the two of these in your relationship with your child. And how you respond to your child will also alter as they grow.

Learn and understand sensitive responsiveness to your child as they grow. A significant part of raising your child to be emotionally secure is understanding when and how to respond to their needs as they age. For example, as your child’s signals will become more varied and subtle as they grow up, your responses to them might need to be considered more carefully. You might need to consider more closely when to say ‘no’ and when to say ‘yes’ to their requests and demands.

Trust yourself when interacting with your child. Although it can trigger doubt and confusion in a parent’s mind when their child is insisting upon their wants and needs, remember that you know your child better than anyone. Even if you are a particularly empathetic parent, or you find yourself asking if you should negotiate with your child, above all, you need to trust yourself. Trust that you will be able to accurately measure the request, and know inside yourself what is best for them at the stage they are currently at.

How can I encourage emotional security in my child?

Learn how to raise an emotionally secure toddler before taking Unii’s Toddler Health & Development Journey.