When I was a little girl of about five years of age I formed my own theory about feelings. I began to understand that I myself felt a certain way and it made me think that others could feel this way also. However, I thought that if I felt a certain way then the person would feel exactly as I did in that situation. In my mind there was only one way to feel about a situation because that was the way that I felt.
I loved my older brother and spent a lot of time with him. Over the summer when we were little he would ask me to stay up late and watch cartoons with him. After a little while I really wanted to sleep in my own bed in my room, and at the time I shared a room with my older sister. I hated sleeping alone. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that my brother also probably hated sleeping alone and this was why he wanted me to watch cartoons. This was not what my brother thought, but to me it had to be. I tried very hard to get him to sleep in my room so that he would not be alone. After awhile, I got really upset that he would not come so that he would not be alone. My mother finally talked to me and explained that he was fine sleeping alone. She told me that he just wanted to spend time with me. This took me a long time to understand, but I finally got it. Other people can feel different then you in the same situation.
The book states, “Individual differences characterize young children’s social understandings. Some young children are better than others at understanding what people are feeling and what they desire…” (Children 314). At first most young children will describe themselves in physical matters. The differences that they have with others are that they are taller or shorter. Later they begin to understand emotions as well.
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