Social and emotional health

Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH): How can we help our children develop their emotive vocabulary?

By Camilla Crystal Children and young people with a history of language disorder are twice as likely to suffer from mental health difficulties than other children, and 20% of 4-5-year-olds with a language disorder also have emotional or behavioural problems. As carers, we must nurture our children’s understanding and use of emotive vocabulary.

When children learn their first words, they are expressing their immediate wants (want, like, need) and needs (hungry, tired, sick, thirsty, in pain). By 18 months, they will be using at least 20 words. At 2 years old, emotions are communicated physically, for example, by running around excitedly and laughing or lying on the floor, crying. They can recognise simple emotions such as ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ in pictures and will use at least 50 words. Three-yearold children have progressed to using a 300-word repertoire, and they will say ‘I don’t know’ and ‘I think’; they are beginning to express thoughts and feelings (love, hope, anger). By 8 years old, the child has a wonderful range of vocabulary which enables them to express how they and others might be feeling and thinking in order to make their own judgements and beliefs (know, believe, dis/agree, frustration, elation, joy).

All of this vocabulary aids in establishing and maintaining deeper conversations and relationships, a deeper understanding of stories and self-control so that they can successfully participate in both school and society.

How to help

1. Talk about your child and use gestures:

‘You’re hot. Jumper off!’ (shake hands and wipe forehead) ‘You like cake, you’re eating cake!’ ‘You look sad, because you’re crying and trying to take the pushchair’

2. Talk about yourself: ‘Oh no. I dropped my snack. I’m disappointed.’ 3. Use books and games: when reading, you can describe a character’s feelings, thoughts and needs. If your child uses one word, model using two words. If they use two words, model using three. The sentences you use must be at the same language level as your child’s. 4. If your child needs visuals, make a core word board (see coreword.assistiveware.com).

Camilla Crystal is a Speech and Language Therapist based in Reading. For more information, contact 07581 067499/ camilla@ccsandl.onmicrosoft.com