Children who have good language skills as toddlers are better able to manage frustration and anger at the age of four, according to a study by Pennsylvania State University.
Researchers measured 120 children’s language skills and their ability to cope with tasks that might create frustration, from the age of 18 months to 48 months.
In one task, children were asked to wait eight minutes before opening a gift while their mothers finished work. Children’s anger and coping strategies were observed during the eight minute wait. Some strategies used by the children including seeking support, such as asking their mothers when they would be finished or questioning what the gift was, and distracting themselves by making up a story or counting aloud.
The findings suggested that children who had better language skills as toddlers and whose language developed more quickly, expressed less anger at the age of four than their peers whose language skills were not as good.
Children whose language developed more quickly were more likely to calmly seek their mother’s support while waiting when they were three-years-old, which predicted less anger at the age of four. These children were also better able to occupy themselves, which helped them to tolerate waiting.
Lead author Pamela Cole from Pennsylvania State University, said, ‘This is the first study to show evidence of early language abilities predicting later aspects of anger regulation.
‘Better language skills may help children verbalise rather than use emotions to communicate their needs and use their imaginations to occupy themselves while enduring a frustrating wait.’
In one task, children were asked to wait eight minutes before opening a gift while their mothers finished work. Children’s anger and coping strategies were observed during the eight minute wait. Some strategies used by the children including seeking support, such as asking their mothers when they would be finished or questioning what the gift was, and distracting themselves by making up a story or counting aloud.
The findings suggested that children who had better language skills as toddlers and whose language developed more quickly, expressed less anger at the age of four than their peers whose language skills were not as good.
Children whose language developed more quickly were more likely to calmly seek their mother’s support while waiting when they were three-years-old, which predicted less anger at the age of four. These children were also better able to occupy themselves, which helped them to tolerate waiting.
Lead author Pamela Cole from Pennsylvania State University, said, ‘This is the first study to show evidence of early language abilities predicting later aspects of anger regulation.
‘Better language skills may help children verbalise rather than use emotions to communicate their needs and use their imaginations to occupy themselves while enduring a frustrating wait.’
- The study, Longitudinal Relations among Language Skills, Anger Expression, and Regulatory Strategies in Early Childhood, is published in Volume 84, Issue 3 of the journal Child Development.