The Ripple Effect: How Mattering Impacts Children
Part 4 of the “Mattering in Early Childhood Education” Series
“The way adults treat one another becomes the emotional blueprint for how children learn to treat the world.”
— Deidre Harris
The Echo of Every Interaction
Walk into a thriving early childhood classroom and you’ll feel it — the calm hum of cooperation, the laughter between colleagues, the unspoken rhythm of care.
That atmosphere doesn’t come from curriculum or compliance checklists; it comes from connection.
The emotional climate of a classroom is a mirror of the emotional climate of the adults within it. When teachers, assistants, and leaders feel seen, valued, and needed — they naturally extend that same energy to children and families.
That’s the ripple effect of mattering.
When Adults Feel They Matter
When early educators experience mattering at work — when they are noticed, affirmed, and needed — something powerful happens:
They show up with presence. Children sense when an adult’s attention is genuine.
They respond with patience. Calm educators help regulate children’s emotions.
They engage with purpose. Their actions feel meaningful, not mechanical.
They collaborate with trust. Teams solve problems instead of assigning blame.
When Adults Don’t Feel They Matter
When educators feel invisible, replaceable, or undervalued, the emotional tone shifts in ways that even children can detect:
Stress rises and patience shortens.
Collaboration gives way to isolation.
Communication becomes transactional instead of relational.
Children absorb tension they don’t understand — and often act it out.
Research on teacher wellbeing and classroom quality is clear: adult emotional experience is one of the strongest predictors of children’s social–emotional outcomes.
In other words, when adults feel they matter, children learn that they matter too.
Mattering as a Child-Outcome Strategy
In the language of early childhood systems, mattering is not only a “wellbeing” initiative — it’s a child-outcome strategy.
Children learn emotional regulation from calm, connected adults.
They develop empathy when they witness empathy among adults.
They internalize belonging when their teachers model mutual respect.
Every smile, every patient redirection, every acknowledgment of effort between colleagues contributes to a child’s developing sense of safety and identity.
This results in the message that echoes through every level of interaction: “You matter here.”
Need support in bringing mattering to your organization? Contact me at deidre.harris@teamagreements.com