The importance of emotional literacy in early childhood

When thinking about early childhood development, it’s natural to focus on visible milestones like first words or learning new skills, as these moments are exciting and easy to measure.

At the same time, emotional skills are developing quietly in the background, shaping how children express their needs and connect with the people around them.

Emotional literacy helps children understand what they are feeling, comprehend emotions in others, and respond in healthy, age-appropriate ways, which are all early skills that influence confidence, relationships, learning, and other aspects of their lives.

With gentle support, emotional literacy can be nurtured at home through everyday interactions as well as within high-quality nursery environments, where emotional language and understanding are guided and practised throughout the day.

What is emotional literacy?

Emotional literacy in early years refers to a child’s ability to recognise and talk about their feelings and emotions. It also includes learning how emotions influence behaviour and relationships between themselves and their peers, as well as adults such as nursery educators and family members.

What are the key components of emotional literacy?

Emotional literacy in early years is made up of several interlinked components:

• Recognising their own emotions: Children learn to notice their own emotions and identify what they are feeling.
• Expressing emotions: Children develop the ability to communicate their feelings in appropriate ways, such as by using words and facial expressions, rather than behaviour alone.
• Managing emotions: Children learn how to cope with strong feelings. For example, they calm themselves down when upset or manage frustration in a healthy and non-destructive way.
• Understanding the emotions of others: Children begin to recognise emotions in others by observing facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice, which helps them to develop empathy.
• Building social skills: Children use their emotional understanding to interact positively with others, including sharing, taking turns, cooperating, and resolving conflicts.

Why is emotional literacy important in early years?

Emotional literacy can support almost every area of a child’s life and will impact them as they grow older and experience the world. When emotional skills are nurtured early, children feel more secure as they explore new environments and form relationships.

When you take the time and resources to develop emotional literacy in your child, they can benefit by:

• Feeling more confident telling you how they feel and what they need
• Finding it easier to build friendships and connect with adults they trust
• Coping better when things change suddenly or do not go to plan
• Becoming more aware of how others might be feeling
• Staying more settled and engaged during activities and learning time
• Building strong emotional resilience that supports their mental health as they grow

Research has also found other benefits of higher emotional literacy in young children, including improved reading comprehension and better regulation of emotional responses. This can also strengthen relationships with teachers to support greater academic success and productivity as children move through their early learning years.

How to nurture emotional literacy in your children

Supporting emotional literacy at home does not need to feel complicated or overly planned.

Many of the most meaningful moments happen during everyday routines, like getting dressed, sharing meals, or winding down at the end of the day. Small, consistent actions can gently build a child’s understanding of emotions and give them the confidence to express how they feel.

Simple actions to help support emotional literacy for early years include:

• Naming feelings as they come up, helping children connect emotions to real experiences, while also talking openly about your own emotions.

Keep your language simple and specific so feelings are easier to recognise and remember.

• Acknowledging their feelings by saying things such as “That looks frustrating” or “You seem really proud of that” to give children language they can use themselves over time.

It’s a good idea to pause and wait after naming the feeling, letting your child agree, disagree, or add more.

• Giving children time to settle when they have high emotions and acknowledging how they’re feeling rather than trying to shut those feelings down, which helps build trust and confidence around emotional expression.

You don’t have to leave them alone during these moments. Just quietly sitting nearby can help children feel supported while they regulate their emotions.

• Practicing emotional literacy at home with a book, where children can see their own experiences reflected in characters and talk about them together. You can discuss how a character might be feeling and ask your child how they would feel in the same situation.

Picturebooks also introduce children to a wide variety of emotions that they might not encounter in everyday speech, and they can practice noticing facial expressions and body language, which are clues that help them understand a character’s emotions.

• Printing and using emotion charts at home, which are placed at eye level or on walls, so children can point to or choose how they are feeling throughout the day.

Tools like the N Mood Meter can also support emotional regulation in different family spaces. At N, trained SendCo team members wear mood meters on their lanyards so emotions are always easy to talk about and share with Send children.

• Encouraging pretend play, which allows children to explore a wide range of emotions in a safe, imaginative way and practise responding to different situations.

Family members can also join in occasionally and model emotional language through the characters you play together.

Helping your children build emotional literacy at nursery

Emotional literacy plays a big part in how children understand themselves, connect with others, and navigate their early learning experiences. When children can recognise and express their feelings in different environments, they feel more confident and settled as they go through each day.

Children benefit most when the emotional language they hear at home aligns with what they experience in their early years setting. When families and nurseries use similar approaches to talking about feelings, children feel more secure and supported, as they know their emotions will be recognised and understood wherever they are.

At N, emotional literacy is woven into daily life across our UK nursery settings. Educators regularly model emotional language, acknowledge children’s feelings, and create space for conversations about emotions during play, routines, and learning moments. As we embed these practices into everyday interactions, children in our care are nurtured to build a positive relationship with their emotions from an early age.