Together, these investigations point to the importance of considering parental beliefs and practices related to emotional expression and emotional communication in understanding of development processes. Discusses the need for cultural variations are contemplated involved. Affection and emotion are considered crucial dimensions of parental care with consequences on child development through everyday practices, parental beliefs, and expectations that guide the way to raise and to educate children. Evidence accumulated in recent decades has highlighted the role of emotional exchanges between parent and their children for a healthy development. It was intended in this work add new results obtained with Brazilian participants. Two studies were performed, one with mothers of infants up to one year , and another, a longitudinal one, with children of five and twenty months-old. Both were conducted in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Together, these investigations indicate the importance of being considered parental beliefs and practices related to emotional expressions and affective communication in understanding of development processes. It´s also discussed the need to consider cultural variations involved.
Affect; interpersonal relations; nonverbal communication