Teaching Your Child to Manage Their Emotions
Emotions can be overwhelming for small children. Impulse control is something which develops over time and under 7’s particularly, can find it tricky to cope when they feel things intensely. This prep school in Hertfordshire concentrates particularly on the personal development of children which can in reality, take some time to develop.
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Name the emotions
Whether they’re experienced extreme anger, or maybe jealousy or more positive emotions, smaller children are often confused or even scared by their own feelings. Part of this is due to them not having any previous understanding of the emotions. This is particularly apparent when the child can’t name the feeling.
Under 4s don’t always have the presence of mind to think “I’m feeling jealous” the way we as adults do. This is why discussion about feelings is vital for your younger children so that when they feel these strong emotions again, they can name them and understand them more.
Personally, I find this especially important when parenting boys. We are conditioned to think boys should keep their emotions in but this leads to all sorts of issues and they have just as much to process as girls.
Counting to ten
Although it’s become something of a cliché, this can really work. There’s a moment before anyone loses their temper or becomes upset – a moment when you can make that choice. Am I going to cry or not? Shall I throw this book or not? Teach your child to look out for that moment. The best way to do this is to help them recognise the signs of over-emotionality and to respond by counting slowly to ten. During that time, they should concentrate on breathing and staying still. Once they’ve done it, they can reassess.
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Play turn-taking games
Board games are great for teaching children to learn self-control and composure. Some children are naturally good at this straight away whilst others find it hard to wait their turn and will move others’ counters or cheat. Keep at it though. Board games are wonderful for helping your child to learn the benefits of waiting patiently.
Teach them to walk away
This won’t work in all situations – the classroom for example. But during play with peers or solo play, should your child become emotional, teach them that it’s fine to remove themselves from the situation at hand. To step away physically can really help them to calm down.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.