At times, we all experience difficulty in expressing our emotions. It can be especailly challenging for children to express their emotions through words, so I encourage parents to think outside of the box about ways in which they can support their children in expressing their emotions. Continue reading Thinking Outside of the Box: Creative Ways to Help Children Express Their Emotions (Part 1)
As parents or caregivers, I believe one of our most important tasks is to help our children learn to identify, share and cope with their emotions (feelings). In a previous post, I wrote about helping children build their feelings vocabulary.
One of the best ways to help children begin to identify, share and cope with their emotions is by supporting them in doing so in the moment, as they are experiencing an emotion. It can be helpful for the parent or caregiver to have a hunch about what the child is feeling and what the contributing factors may be. Our hunches may be wrong, but they give us a starting point in trying to support children in sharing and coping with their emotions.
I often talk to parents about being open to having their children express their emotions (feelings) through means other than words. Art, music and play are just a few of the powerful ways in which children communicate and share their emotions with us. I have learned so much about how children understand the world by just playing with them. Having said that, there are many reasons why it is valuable to help children build a feelings vocabulary and comfort in discussing their emotions.
The Benefits of Building Your Child’s Feelings Vocabulary
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It can be fun to have a special day devoted to showing our children (and others) that we love them. But, our daily interactions are essential in showing our children that we love them.
Below you’ll find eight ways we can show children we love them throughout the year. Many of you may already be implementing some of these suggestions, but some of the suggestions may be ideas you want to consider implementing or revisiting in your family.
Continue reading 8 Ways to Show Children You Love Them Throughout the Year
The beginning of the year offers an opportunity to reflect back on the previous year and think about the upcoming year. While people tend to do this type of reflection on an individual basis, the below questions are designed to be considered and discussed as a family. Depending on the ages of the children involved in the discussion, some of the wording may need to be modified. The questions can also be modified for shorter periods of time as some children may struggle to reflect on a one year period of time.
Please see the note at the bottom of this post if you are interested in questions for individual reflection.
Continue reading Family Reflection Questions for the New Year