Teaching your child to manage their emotions

Teaching Your Child to Manage their Emotions

The ability to manage one’s emotions is an important skill, because it what allows us to navigate and recover from difficult situations. Parents can help their children learn to manage their emotions in various ways, as explored below by a boarding school in Wiltshire.

Label Emotions

 Your child won’t be able to handle complex emotions if they don’t know what they are, so try to find opportunities to point them out. Say things like “I can see you’re super excited to see your cousins” or “It seems like you’re getting a little bit frustrated with this piece of homework”. Point them out in others too, like characters on the TV.

If your child understands what they’re feeling when they’re feeling it, they will be better able to react in a healthy way. For instance, if they know that they are starting to get frustrated with their homework, they might decide to take a little break and calm down.

Praise Your Child

 When you notice that your child has successfully managed a certain emotion, be sure to praise them. For instance, you could say “I could see that you were getting angry with your brother earlier and I’m really proud of you for not shouting at him, well done”. If you praise particular behaviour, your child is more likely to repeat it going forward.

Be a Good Role Model

 If you lose your temper easily or react badly when you’re under pressure, your child will likely think that these are appropriate responses to certain emotions. So, try and catch yourself and focus on being a good role model to your child, showing them how to behave in certain situations.

Forgive Mistakes

 Your child might have a strong emotional reaction to a mistake they have made. For instance, they might become cross with themselves for realising on the way to school that they have forgotten their homework, or they might be devastated for performing badly on a test. By teaching your child to forgive themselves, and others, they will be better able to handle such setbacks. Remind them that they are only human, and mistakes are inevitable. Being upset or cross won’t change the outcome.

Thanks for reading xxx