Building Resiliency In Children – Part 4: Emotional Regulation

Encouraging emotional regulation helps our children build resilience.

Teaching your child different emotional words will help them identify and communicate their emotions to others more effectively.

Help your child learn to identify and manage their emotions.

One step in doing this is to teach them to use feeling words to express themselves.

Children often think there are three feelings: happy, sad, and mad. Help your child learn that there are many other words to express what they are feeling.

Other people will be able to more appropriately help them when they better understand what your child is feeling.

For example, if a child can say “I feel embarrassed” rather than acting out and presenting as mad, others will respond to them in a more appropriate and supportive way for their situation.

Another step you can do to promote emotional regulation is to help your child learn healthy ways to cope with stress, anxiety, and frustration.

Teach them calming techniques such as taking a break, deep breathing, mindfulness, and utilizing creative outlets like art and play. There are many fun and age-appropriate mindfulness apps that can help you teach these tools online.

By implementing this strategy to build resilience, we empower our children with the ability to navigate life’s inevitable ups and downs with confidence.