Early childhood education and early childhood undoubtedly represent one of the most important periods in a child's development, and it is especially important to emphasize the importance of emotional competencies in this period of child development. Namely, children show their emotions from the very birth, learn to recognize them in other people, and through interaction with other people, they try to control their own and recognize other people's emotions. The ability to manage one's own and others' emotions improves an individual's social interactions and contacts with other people and provides the possibility of an empathetic and altruistic way of dealing with others. In the process of encouraging, i.e. developing emotional competence in children, parents have a great role and importance because they are the primary educational factor. In addition to parents as primary educational factors, secondary educational factors also play a major role, such as school, other educators, peers and the entire society in which the child lives and grows up. Emotions play an important role in the everyday life of every individual because in various situations, consciously or unconsciously, they determine our behavior. Becoming aware of emotions is the first step if we want to improve our own and the child's social and emotional competencies. Therefore, it is extremely important that the primary family, i.e. parents and all other members of the child's environment, participate in encouraging the learning of the child's emotional competence. Adults present a model of behavior to children by learning and encouraging their emotional skills, observing and regulating their own emotions and stimulating the ability to identify. This theoretical paper reflects on the role of parents in encouraging children's emotional competence. An important role during the process of raising children and encouraging emotional competence, in addition to parents, is played by educators, peers, educational institutions (kindergarten and school), the child's environment, as well as their awareness of the importance of developing emotional competence in early childhood education.