Hello Everyone,
Please click on the link “A Good Morning Message” to see some of the comments from staff and Joy our friend from inside out, we hope that reading this will support you to have conversations about your feelings and emotions.
Did you know, children who learn how to understand emotions in themselves and others are better able to regulate their own responses to strong emotions. Helping children to identify and label emotions is an important first step, adults help to support children’s emotional development when they label and talk about emotions and feelings.
Ways to support children’s emotional understanding:
- Ask children how they feel and notice their feelings throughout the day. For example, when a child has a concern or problem, ask questions or make comments like, “How are you feeling? or “It looks like you might be feeling sad about something.”
- Talk with children throughout the day about emotions. For example, when reading books to children, label the characters’ emotions and point out the facial expression and body language of the characters in books.
- Talk about how you are feeling during the day in appropriate ways. For example, “I am feeling happy today because today we are going out for a walk!”. Direct children to look at your facial expressions and body language as you say, “How can you tell I’m feeling happy today?”
- Talk about how people might feel in different situations to help children understand the different contexts of feelings and that all people have feelings. For example, when reading books or talking with children about their own lives, ask questions like, “Why do you think she felt that way? How could you tell she was feeling sad?”
- Label and define feelings for children when they do not have the words to express how they are feeling. For example, “It looks like you might be sad that you won’t get a turn on the swings today. That feeling is called sad. Let’s figure out a plan to make you feel happy and we can come back to the park and go on the swings another day.
Please feel free to comment below any views from you or your child, so that other children and families can see these!
