The Importance of Emotional Safety
Just as children desire and require physical safety, they also desire and require emotional safety. Emotional safety is a key component in a child’s development. Emotional safety is defined as “the feeling of being accepted and embraced for who you truly are, allowing you to express your true self, including your hurts, fears, and dreams, without fear of judgment or conflict. It is crucial for healthy relationships, as it fosters vulnerability and trust, enabling open communication” (Psychology Today, 2025).
Without emotional safety, children risk intense psychological distress and lack the confidence to reach out and ask for help, or express their feelings when they are struggling. While there is some concern that promoting emotional safety is” bubble wrapping” your children from experiencing sadness and other negative feelings, emotional safety is much more than perceived. Emotional safety, in fact, encourages kids to feel sad, scared, angry, anxious, etc., and allows the child to feel safe enough to do so. It is important for children to feel safe enough with the people in their homes and families in order to open up about the things, good and bad, they are feeling and experiencing.
In addition to emotional safety allowing children to express their feelings, emotional safety also has a large physical component that is good for kids as well. “When you feel emotionally safe with someone, your heart rate and respiration go down and even synchronize with the other person's. Perspiration, a sign of stress, is reduced. The muscles in your body relax. You’re likely to express more of your thoughts and feelings, both positive and negative. You can better tolerate physical pain when they’re with you” (Psychology Today, 2025).
One way to incorporate and promote emotional safety within your home is through consistency. While life can be busy and we can sometimes feel as if we are always on the go, having structure and routine can really benefit and contribute to the emotional safety children feel at home. “Regular schedules for meals, bedtime, and other activities instill a comforting rhythm in their disrupted lives. This consistent routine acts as a stabilizing force, smoothing their transition through the upheavals of familial change” (Unruh, 2023).
Allowing and practicing open communication is another way to foster emotional safety within your home. Encouraging open and honest conversations with your children, allowing them to express their anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, etc., creates an environment of trust and understanding.
Emotional safety begins with emotional intelligence. Children often learn from watching and observing those around them. Because of this, we as adults have important roles in helping teach children how to express their emotions but first encourage them to identify, understand, and manage their emotions.
Along with assessing and expressing their emotions, it is also important for children to have healthy ways of coping when dealing with difficult situations and feelings. “Providing tools for emotional intelligence enables them to better cope with psychological stresses and uncertainties inherent in family separations” (Unruh, 2023).
By providing examples of our own positive coping skills and demonstrating assessing and expressing our feelings in front of our children, we can better equipe them to be able to do the same whether that is in our own homes, at school, with their friends, or in their future homes and communities.
Written by:
Brittany Talbott
Senior Specialist, Community Engagement
Adapt for Life
Brenner, H., & Letich, L. (2023, January 16). Emotional safety: What it is and why it’s important. Psychology Today.
Unruh, S. (2023, September 25). How to create emotional safety for your kids. Unruh Mediation.