Managing feelings Liz Eardley
• What are some of the challenges? • What are some feelings that we have? • Why do we have feelings? • They help us to make the right choices Article 13 (freedom of expression) Every child must be free to express their thoughts and opinions and to access all kinds of information, as long as it is within the law.
How do we manage our feelings? • Were you encouraged to show your feelings when you were growing up? • What are some cultural barriers to showing our feelings? • Do we treat boys differently to girls when we are talking about feelings? • What messages do we give to children about expressing our feelings?
Helping your child regulate their feelings • Try to understand what your child is feeling and wanting • Describe your child’s feelings (don’t ask him what he is feeling, he may not know) • Label your child’s feelings (positive more than negative) • Praise your child for self-regulation skills such as staying calm, waiting for a turn and using words • Support your child when she is frustrated • Model and give your child emotional language, “I can see you are angry” • Help your child learn ways to self regulate such as taking a deep breath • Model feeling language yourself, for example “I feel sad about that”
Activities to encourage Emotional Literacy • Play a family game where someone picks an emotion and acts it out for others to guess • Make a volcano! • Look at pictures in magazines and talk about different emotions that you see • Acknowledge feelings • Plan a family activity that can reduce stress
Books: • The Red Beast • I feel angry • A volcano in my tummy • The huge bag of worries • Mum and Dad glue • The feel good book • It’s okay to be different • The Family book • When my parents forgot how to be friends
Other resources: • Worry monster • Feeling games • Stress ball • Anger worksheets
Thank you for listening
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