How do I feel?
Sometimes I feel happy,
Sometimes I feel sad,
Sometimes I feel silly,
Sometimes I feel mad.
Whatever I am feeling, it’s really quite okay.
For what I feel are feelings.
I feel different ways each day.
Sometimes I feel grumpy.
Sometimes I‘m sick inside.
Sometimes I feel embarrassed.
Sometimes I ‘m filled with pride.
Whatever I am feeling, it’s really quite okay.
For what I feel are feelings.
I feel different ways each day.
All children undergo emotions and feelings. We all have emotions, just like children, but with age, we have mastered the techniques to suppress, control and hide our emotions.
Positive emotions such as feelings of love, and happiness make you feel good and negative emotions such as feelings of anger, and disappointment make you feel bad or sad. You need both positive and negative feelings to be able to feel and understand yourself, and to make adjustments in terms of achieving balance in your life.
But with children, their emotions fluctuate easily and they may have difficulty managing these emotions if they don't know how to identify and respond to them. It is not uncommon for children to react explosively to emotions -- screaming when they are excited, hitting or throwing when they are angry or withdrawing when they are sad. These are human impulses and young children are not always fully equipped with the knowledge of how to positively react to them, and that's where parents can come in. The key to helping children manage their emotions is to receive continuous emotional support from their parents.
Love is a very basic positive emotion. If a child is nurtured in a loving family where all members respect and love each other, it is very likely that he or she will grow into an adult who behaves in a manner similar to the behavioral patterns that he or she seen and observed as a child. If love does not exist in a family and the family is dysfunctional, severe behavioral disorders can develop in the children. As an adult, he or she will have difficulties in developing an intimate relationship with a partner. As a parent, help your child understand how to react to a particular emotion when it arises. Also, teach how to manage emotions.
Ways to help your child manage her feelings and emotions:
Identify feelings and emotions:
The sooner children learn to recognize and deal with emotions that they feel in response to some situations, to what someone said, or what they saw on television, the better equipped they will be to navigate life’s twists and turns. The first step is helping children recognize and name their feelings. Young children typically “act out” their feelings. Stomping their feet, slamming the door, yelling, crying, pouting and withdrawing are typical ways children act out feelings and communicate different degrees of different emotions.
Control emotions:
Teach the child to control emotions by following cool-down technique such as taking a deep breath, imagining a peaceful scene, recollecting a sweet memory, or counting numbers, pleasurable activity for some time as a means of relaxation.Teach your children to manage emotions by watching favorite album, listening to soothing music, exercising, or spending time with a pet. Involving in some or the other activities (games, writing something, or doing other physical activity) and keeping themselves busy can be helpful to alleviate emotions and the stress attached with it.
Communicate:
The best way out to help out is by patiently listening to your children, empathizing with them and solving the issue. To manage emotions of your child, first you need to have close communication with your child and try to understand and encourage your child to express what is happening with her, what is she feeling, and its reaction.
Share your feelings :
Talk to your children about your feelings to encourage them to talk to you about themselves. Showing your children, that you understand, will be helpful in establishing a connection with the feelings of your children. Discuss about emotions and answer to questions of your child freely. However, while doing so, keep the age of your child in mind.
Understanding others :
Making your children learn about the feelings of others is also an important part of teaching how to control emotions. This will be helpful in developing successful relationship. Help your child to value the rights, feelings, and emotions of others.
Reassure your child that it is o.k to feel and vent emotions. But at the same time, children need to learn how to manage emotions, so that your little one is protected from the complexity or pain attached with emotions.
