{"id":586218,"date":"2026-04-05T02:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586218\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T02:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T02:43:19","slug":"why-films-are-vital-for-childrens-emotional-intelligence-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586218\/","title":{"rendered":"Why films are vital for children\u2019s emotional intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Steven Spielberg\u2019s 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an enduring classic for many reasons: it used groundbreaking animatronics, had a banging John Williams score and featured flying bikes. But what truly helped it stand the test of time was its emotional core.<\/p>\n

Elliott, a young boy in California, befriends an alien stranded on Earth. Instead of seeing the extraterrestrial like everybody else \u2013 as an otherworldly threat \u2013 Elliott sees a lost, misunderstood creature who needs help. For the adults watching, it\u2019s a heartwarming tear-jerker. But for younger audiences, it\u2019s much more.<\/p>\n

\"ETET doesn\u2019t just entertain young minds \u2013 it helps shape them.Universal<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 100 per cent teaching empathy. You really feel what the people on-screen are feeling, and you bring that into your life outside the cinema,\u201d says Reece Goodwin, senior film and TV curator at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).<\/p>\n

E.T. is one of many films that helps younger audiences better identify and understand feelings, both within themselves and others. This, in turn, strengthens their emotional intelligence \u2013 although many children wouldn\u2019t know what emotional intelligence is, or why it\u2019s such an important life skill. Meanwhile, an increasing number of parents consider any form of screen time the enemy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To combat this, ACMI launched Kids\u2019 Flicks with Feelings, regular sessions in which children watch a carefully selected movie and then reflect on how it made them feel.<\/p>\n

\"ForFor Florence Romstad-Contreras, Macy Varrall and Parsa Poudat (left to right), movies aren\u2019t just a pastime; they\u2019re emotionally enlightening.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

\u201cFilm is so important. It\u2019s a unique way to follow somebody else\u2019s experience that might be really different from ours for 90 minutes or two hours. You get to see the world through their eyes for that time and really experience what they\u2019re feeling,\u201d Goodwin says, adding the program\u2019s audience has tripled between 2023 and 2025.<\/p>\n

While emotional intelligence comes naturally to some children, Goodwin says others can build it over time. Film plays a vital role in this, as young audiences pick up on emotional cues, all of which can then be carried into their own lives and relationships.<\/p>\n

For 12-year-old Florence Romstad-Contreras, Meet Me in St Louis (1944) introduced her to the feeling of frustration triggered by injustice. \u201cWhen the father in the movie announces that the whole family is moving to New York \u2013 it feels so unfair,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Iconic<\/a><\/p>\n

In Coco, she discovered the nuance of grief, and the power of honouring passed loved ones through memory. \u201cThe song Recuerdame is lovely, and watching the elderly Coco sing it while thinking about her father is so sad! So many tears have been shed watching this movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodwin points to Bridge to Terabithia, a film screened as part of Kids\u2019 Flicks, which follows a young boy as he grapples with immense grief after the sudden death of his close friend. Not only does this movie help children better identify feelings of sorrow, Goodwin says, but it can also gently introduce them to the inevitability of loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might be the expression on their face, the tone of their voice. It could be the way they move their bodies. All of these things give us clues, and [our sessions] are challenging young audiences to be really active viewers,\u201d Goodwin says.<\/p>\n

Films build children\u2019s emotional vocabulary, Goodwin adds, especially as they\u2019re faced with more subtle or nuanced emotions they may not yet be able to articulate: anxiety, elation, isolation, melancholy. Inside Out 2 goes so far as to include a character called \u201cAnxiety\u201d, offering children a physical example of what the emotion could feel and look like.<\/p>\n

\"BridgeBridge to Terabithia helps children identify sorrow and gently introduces the inevitability of loss.Buena Vista Pictures Distribution<\/p>\n

Macy Varrall, an 11-year-old Kids\u2019 Flicks attendee, says Inside Out taught her the difference between basic emotions, while the sequel canvassed emotions usually experienced with age.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, if I experience an emotion, I picture who it was in the movie,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd now that I\u2019m a bit older, I also like movies like High School Musical, Feel the Beat and The Kissing Booth … I feel like I\u2019m the person in the movie sometimes. It\u2019s like I\u2019m going through everything with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s generally easier for children to pick up on these emotional cues in film compared to other texts such as books, says Louise Paatsch, deputy director of Deakin\u2019s Research for Educational Impact Centre. This is largely because of the interplay between the audio and visual elements in film \u2013 facial expressions pair with tones of voice or music. This multi-modal form of comprehension, Paatsch says, generally remains with them for longer.<\/p>\n

\"InsideInside Out 2 literally shows children what anxiety could feel and look like.Disney\/Pixar<\/p>\n

Most children generally watch films in a safe, controlled environment, whether it\u2019s a cinema or at home. The familiarity and safety of such spaces enables young audiences to explore uncomfortable or distressing emotions in a healthy, constructive way.<\/p>\n

Take Jim Henson\u2019s Labyrinth, another film screened as part of Kids\u2019 Flicks. The goblin-heavy film is dark and disturbing \u2013 it\u2019s centred on a baby abduction, after all \u2013 but children can safely process the fear it elicits, allowing them to see through to the bravery and self-confidence it also displays.<\/p>\n

As beneficial as watching films can be for children\u2019s EQ, Paatsch says post-viewing discussions are just as critical.<\/p>\n

\"LabyrinthLabyrinth helps children see what\u2019s beyond the fear.The Jim Henson Company<\/p>\n

\u201cParents can help shape meaning around how children interpret the narrative; how they can interpret the character or the character\u2019s emotions,\u201d Paatsch says. \u201cYoung children are full of emotions, so if parents can scaffold their child\u2019s understanding, it can help them with their own emotional regulation. It\u2019s all about how you support them to understand this world they\u2019ve just watched.\u201d<\/p>\n

This kind of co-viewing has also been shown to improve children\u2019s socialisation<\/a> and general wellbeing.<\/p>\n

Screens are here to stay, so it\u2019s more important for parents to focus on the context in which the screen is being used rather than time spent with it. After all, watching E.T. \u2013 a family-friendly film thoughtfully selected by ACMI that explores the value of empathising with those different from yourself \u2013 is ultimately more likely to benefit a young mind than harm it.<\/p>\n

Kids\u2019 Flicks with Feelings<\/a> will run from April 6 to April 18 at ACMI, beginning with Cartoon Saloon\u2019s The Secret of Kells.<\/p>\n

Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"NellNell Geraets<\/a> is a Culture and Lifestyle reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,134,344],"class_list":["post-586218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}