Parents often have trouble how to explain emotions to a child. After all, our little ones deserve to know why they’re sad or angry.
Teaching our little ones that emotions are part of their lives and linked to their behavior contributes to developing social skills.
So, in this article, we’ll teach you how to explain emotions to a child and help them develop proper emotional intelligence.
What are The Emotions?
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), emotions are complex individual reactions to a certain circumstance.
People have different kinds of emotions. Some make us feel good, some make us feel bad, but all are crucial for our development.
D-r Paul Ekman, an American psychologist and professor at the University of California. suggests that we have six basic emotions:
- Sadness;
- Happiness;
- Fear;
- Anger;
- Surprise;
- Disgust;
Emotions Chart for Kids With Faces
Why Teaching Emotions Is Important
Explaining emotions to a child is one of the crucial parenting roles. You can’t let your child stumble in the real world without good emotional intelligence.
But what exactly is emotional intelligence? It’s the ability to express, control, and perceive emotions. Seems like a pretty big thing!
Building healthy relationships from a young age can help develop proper emotional intelligence in children.
When you constantly communicate with your children, you can always point out the importance of understanding emotions.
Building your children’s emotional intelligence is crucial for their future social interaction and professional development.
Choosing the Right Time and Place
Don’t know when to talk to your children about emotions? Well, worry no more! Firstly, create a friendly and safe environment to talk with your children.
Furthermore, talk to your child about the reasons for their feelings. Explain how to correctly express and understand them.
For example, if your child is angry, explain that emotion, and make them aware of the consequences of showcasing it.
Also, point out that every feeling matters and be a role model to your child. Emotionally intelligent parents raise emotionally intelligent children!
Using Simple Language and Concepts
Our children’s behavior also depends on our involvement in their emotional development and social interactions.
So, parents should implement teaching children about emotional intelligence from an early age.
You can start by teaching your children how to recognize different emotions through facial expressions. You can even use our emotion chart!
To explain better, you can use colors to determine different emotions. For example, you can pick red for anger, yellow for happiness, blue for sadness, etc.
Another well-known practice is learning with examples. Teach your children how to recognize different emotions in the real world and test them out once in a while.
For example, if your children misbehave, let them know that you are feeling upset by displaying a sad facial expression.
Teach them to be compassionate in such situations and always analyze the reasons for those feelings.
Helping Kids Recognize Emotions
Positive or negative feelings are an inner part of our children’s lives, and teaching them to recognize them is a parental must.
Children are naive and can’t control their emotions. I’m not saying that adults always control them, but we’re at least somewhat aware.
So, teach your children to analyze their body expressions and facial mimics to understand their emotions more easily.
Also, you’ve probably been in a situation when two children fight for one toy. In the end, both children are angry and sad.
In such a situation, teach children to feel compassionate and be aware of the other side’s feelings. It’s tough, but it’s worth it.
Having emotionally stable children can help you avoid many headaches and raise mentally healthy children.
So, teach your little ones to value their and others’ emotions, expressions, and reactions. How our children understand emotions speaks about how parents raised them
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How early should I start teaching my child about emotions?
Teach your children about emotions from an early age. When your children start simple communication (baby talk) you can introduce them to the emotions chart.
What if my child doesn’t want to talk about their feelings?
Some individuals consider that talking about emotions is their weakness so they choose not to talk. These individuals can be children as well. Don’t let your child feel ashamed or weak about sharing emotions. Be a comforting parent, talk to your little one, and use games and a friendly approach to convince your child that showing emotion benefits them.
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