Children are always learning, watching, picking up nonverbal cues, storing and retrieving information, filtering and practicing.  

How do I help my child manage their emotions?

Manage yours. Most adults are not good at managing their emotions. There are techniques and simple skills that you can learn so that you will be a good model for your child/children.

Communicate.  Don’t be afraid to talk about emotions, events, obstacles, opportunities which helps them define and differentiate.

Allow them to feel all of the emotions. Experience is necessary for mastery.  If we don’t allow children to feel their emotions, learn to label them and recognize the variation in emotions - every emotion will get the same reaction.

Teach them to process.  The ability to step out of your emotion allows you to see it clearly, define it, makes better decisions and ultimately gain a sense of accomplishment necessary for skills to become automatic.

Let them observe you solving conflict. It’s okay, actually helpful, for children to see disagreements, witness your emotion, observe your reactions, and ask questions.  This observation normalizes emotion and helps them witness the “balancing” that creates healthy patterns.

Give them opportunity for practice.  Encouraging your child to practice, practice, practice helps them build confidence and resilience.

Successful people are confident and resilient.