Have you ever been overwhelmed with a flood of feelings? Do you know what to do with the mad that you feel? If it’s difficult for you, just think how easily a child gets emotionally hijacked! Children have many feelings about all aspects of their lives which need to be dealt with rather than ignored. Allowing a child to acknowledge his or her own personal feelings permits the child to say, “It’s all right to be me”.
Children who are able to honor their feelings know what it is to feel comfortable with themselves. Create a safe atmosphere for children to share and express their feelings. If you can listen to a child’s feelings with your head and your heart, you send the message, “How you see things is important to me. It’s worth my time and effort to share your feelings.”
Here are some ideas to help children express and manage their feelings with harm to none:
- Help children with the words to name their feelings
- Help them remember that is never, ever okay to harm another with actions or words
- Offer paint, paper, puppets or clay as a way of expressing feelings
- Encourage a child to take ten deep breaths to calm and center him or her self
- Acknowledge your child’s feelings by listening and reflecting back what you hear
- Refrain from judging or fixing
Click here to purchase “A Pond Full of Feelings.” A wonderfully illustrated storybook with accompanying audio/music story CD Book and audio CD in both English and Spanish
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