This enables the infant to feel love and acceptance, establishing a healthy foundation for the child's emotional development. Conversely, infants and toddlers who have been emotionally abused and maltreated tend to behave like their abusive parents. Growing up with a lack of empathy, they hit, fight, throw tantrums, and yell. Potential problems include aggressive behavior, fighting, unpopularity in school, learning difficulties, truancy, poor grades, depression, and substance abuse. Another important social skill that children need to learn is how to manage relationships.
Children first develop relationships within their families.
Within these family relationships, children need to have their feelings accepted by their parents. When parents show indifference to these emotional needs, children begin to feel vulnerable. They may begin to avoid expressing and sharing feelings, which may result in a lack of the skills necessary for healthy relationships. The lack of such social skills can be identified by the rising rates of depression among American children during the past decade. This indicates that children's emotional needs are not being met.