The young in our species – children – have the longest period of dependency upon adult care, as a proportion of lifespan, of any other animal species. The emotional and social development of children are dependent on the quality of care and protection they receive. Long-term problems in wellbeing and adjustment develop when those important needs are not fulfilled by the carer of the infant, child or adolescent, or if those needs are threatened by others. One element of emotional development is how the child learns to cope with emotional distress or upsets. The protection and fulfilment of children’s needs by their carers and peers serves to avoid the experience of intense distress, and lays the groundwork for the experience of wellbeing. Children who suffer emotionally in their developing years are generally at greater risk of carrying lifelong psychological vulnerabilities – which means they are less resilient to future stresses, and are more prone to emotional upsets such as anxiety, depression or antisocial behaviours. That is to say that they carry burdens of emotional pain into their future lives.