The role of caregivers is decisive. A mother or father who knows how to comfort a crying child, who names what the child feels, who doesn’t punish fear or sadness, offers a model of emotional management that the child later internalizes. Teaching is done by example, not lectures. Every comforting gesture, every hug at the right moment, every word that gives meaning to the child’s emotional chaos, is a lesson that becomes imprinted.

The ability to self-regulate—to wait, to calm down, to manage anxiety—is forged very early. The way an adult helps a child deal with their emotions becomes the inner voice that child will hear for life. If, during childhood, they were taught to breathe before acting, to think before hitting, to speak instead of screaming, that child is likely to grow into an emotionally competent adult. If not, they will remain a prisoner of their impulses.

Traditional schooling has ignored this dimension for too long. Schools teach reading and math, but very few teach how to resolve conflicts, tolerate frustration, work in teams, or express emotions properly. This neglect has visible consequences: classrooms filled with anxiety, bullying, withdrawal, lack of empathy, difficulty cooperating. And later on, an adulthood with no emotional compass.