As a Child Development major there are certain things I get excited over that I just can’t explain. I get excited about educational philosophies and natural children’s toys. I can speak for hours about the five “S’s” of taking care of a baby and how important it is to enroll your child in preschool. Above all else, I have a heart for appropriate and encouraging socio-emotional growth. So when a movie came out about a child’s emotions, I was all for it. I waited months for this movie to come out. I went around school showing everyone the trailer and how excited I was to watch the movie. So when I did, it was everything I had hoped for.
It emphasized the importance of accepting sadness and not feeling pressured to be joyful. It’s ok to be sad. Going through my parents divorce, I felt I needed to put on a smile and be happy about it, but there is not a child in this world who feels happiness in a time of separation and turmoil. Pretending to be happy was so much more difficult than just letting myself feel and accept sorrow. Too often children are told to stop crying and that they’re ok, but people need to realize they’re crying for a reason. It’s so important to help children process their emotions and listen to why they are feeling sad. It’s ok to be sad, and it’s ok for children to cry sometimes.
The movie showed how children are formed by the things around them. Their identity is created by what is happening in the world around them. When their surroundings suddenly change then what they know to be true is lost. Last year I was in a ministry class where we learned about divorce. The book we read argued that when parents decide to separate their child loses the foundation for which their lives were created on. All a child knows is the foundation their parents have set forth, and when parents get divorced it’s all gone. Children need a sense of stability in their lives, but if their world changes it will take time to rebuild. Growing up is not easy, but when there is a group of people who love, support, and encourage a child then it gets better.
As I reflected on this movie and thought about why I feel passionate about socio-emotional development, I realized that it’s a topic that hits close to home. I can see the ways cognitive development and physical development were encouraged in my childhood, but rarely was there a time when somehow asked how I felt. A child’s emotions should be viewed as treasure and treated with care. Inside Out reminded me that there’s other emotions besides joy.