EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OF THE CHILD AT PRESCHOOL AGE (Parental survey)
Authors: Hristova-Kotseva Reni 
Published: August 2019

The article presents a recent theoretical and empirical study on the emotional well-being of the child at pre-school age. Emotions occupy an important and essential place in the child’s pre-school life and play a decisive role in their psychological, physical and social development because they are related to the natural and social world. It is through them that the child perceives and understands the environment, reacts and expresses his/her attitude to it, enters the world of human relations, learns to communicate with adults and peers, understands them, shares with them, seeks and expects their support and understanding.The problem of the emotional well-being of children in the family and pre-school educational institutions is current, as the positive emotional state is one of the most important conditions for the full development of the forming child’s personality.For the of preschool-age child, emotional well-being is important because:- feelings are decisive in the psycho-physical, social, cognitive and creative development of the child’s personality;- emotional comfort favours the development of the child’s personality and promotes the full development of personal potential;- positive relationships with others - adults and peers - are an important source for childhood experiences;- communicating is fruitful when it is based on positive emotions, understanding, respect and mutual trust;- it creates a favourable environment for the expression of the child’s personality by promoting activity, autonomy and working capacity.Today’s child spends most of the day in the kindergarten, along with teachers and peers. It is important for parents to know how children’s everyday life goes, how the child feels in kindergarten, if he/she meets the demands and expectations. The questions they ask and their answers relate to the atmosphere and the psychological climate in the children’s group, relate to the child’s psychological well-being and emotional well-being.Taking into account the importance of emotional well-being for the development and formation of the child at pre-school age, a survey was conducted with parents whose children attended a preparatory group at the kindergarten.The aim of the study is to explore the parents’ opinion about the emotional well-being of the child in the kindergarten group and their attitude towards the emotional atmosphere between the children and the pedagogical team.Parents’ views on the emotional well-being of the child in the kindergarten group are examined through a survey method.The questions in the survey are structured to provide the opportunity to:- identify the attitudes and feelings experienced by the child visiting a kindergarten;- specify the relationship of the child with the pedagogical staff and the children in the group;- establish the existence of mutual trust and sharing between the child and the parents;- explore the personal attitude of parents to child’s emotionality;- determine the parental competence with respect to the personal formation of the child.The following conclusions are drawn from the conducted survey:1. The analysis of the responses of the parents who participated in the survey shows that a positive emotional atmosphere has been created and maintained in the preparatory group, which provides the emotional well-being of the child.2. There is an emotional relationship between parents and children; there is mutual trust, which is evident from the fact that a large part of the children share with their parents how their day in the kindergarten goes.3. Parents are informed and have competence for the personality formation of their child.