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Distress and comfort are part and parcel of everyday interactions in early years settings, but the way young children are seen and understood to communicate distress, and the way adults are observed to respond, varies enormously.
This is important because these interactions are known to have a profound effect on emotional development. An upset child wants and needs us to ‘receive them’.
PROCESS OF RECEIVING
The process of receiving a young child’s distress sounds straightforward but is actually a complex psychological exchange that can be overwhelming for parents and practitioners alike.
‘Receiving’ a child’s unhappiness means noticing and allowing difficult feelings to be expressed, thinking about them, and trying to make sense of them before giving them back to the child in a more emotionally manageable form. In a busy early years setting, receiving young children’s distress can be a noisy, messy, uncomfortable and draining process that without appropriate training and support is likely to be avoided.
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