7.5 How Children Learn Emotionally Through Relationships, Play and Language

Emotional learning is woven through the everyday experiences children have in an early years setting. This lesson explores how relationships, play, language and emotional coaching help children understand and manage their feelings. You will learn how co-regulation works, and why children often need a calm, trusted adult to help them regulate before they can develop self-regulation themselves. The lesson also considers the importance of emotional safety, consistency and warmth in helping children explore, take risks and recover from setbacks. It explains how stories, conversations and noticing feelings aloud can build children’s emotional vocabulary and self-awareness. Play is presented as a valuable opportunity to practise empathy, negotiation and perspective-taking in a safe, low-pressure context. The lesson recognises that children have different emotional starting points and highlights the importance of meeting each child without judgement. Finally, it explores how a practitioner’s own emotional presence, including the willingness to acknowledge mistakes and repair relationships, contributes to children’s learning. Explore related training with CMS: https://cmsvoc.co.uk/ Chapters 00:00 Emotional learning in everyday early years experiences 00:54 Co-regulation, safety and self-regulation 02:21 Building emotional vocabulary through language 02:53 How play supports emotional development 03:42 The practitioner’s emotional presence and repair 04:36 Emotional learning in ordinary moments