Adults often underestimate how deeply children experience the world. Because they don’t always express emotions clearly, it’s easy to assume they are “fine” or that their feelings will simply pass. In reality, children feel fear, shame, joy, jealousy, and grief just as intensely as adults do — they simply lack the language, emotional vocabulary, and life experience to explain what is happening inside them.
A child who suddenly becomes quiet, aggressive, or withdrawn is often communicating something without words. Emotional overload in children rarely looks like sadness alone. It may show up as anger, defiance, restlessness, frequent tears, or even physical complaints like stomach aches and headaches. These behaviours are not random. They are signals.
Many children grow up learning that certain emotions are “bad” or inconvenient. They may be told not to cry, not to complain, or not to “overreact.” Over time, this teaches them to suppress feelings rather than understand them. Suppressed emotions don’t disappear; they often resurface later as anxiety, low self-esteem, or difficulty trusting others.
Listening to children goes beyond asking questions. It means observing patterns, paying attention to sudden changes, and validating emotions even when we don’t fully understand them. Simple responses like “That sounds scary” or “I can see why that upset you” help a child feel seen. Validation does not mean agreement — it means acknowledgement.
When adults create spaces where children are allowed to feel without judgment, children learn something powerful early in life: emotions are not weaknesses. They are information. And learning to recognise, name, and manage those emotions is one of the most important life skills a child can develop.