Being a parent is one of the most important missions on the planet. Caring for the world’s future generations is a great responsibility. It can be especially challenging when these little humans cannot comprehend what exactly is going on with them, or how to handle life in general. In such cases, it falls on the parents’ shoulders to figure out what the little ones are feeling and to help them understand too.
Here are some ideas for those moments when your child needs your help to understand their emotions:
- Model calm behavior
Children mimic the behavior they see around themselves. Oftentimes, it comes as a surprise seeing your little ones say the things or do the things that other people do. However, this is how they learn about the world around them. By doing this, kids handle outside stimuli and learn to navigate life.
You can help them to do this gracefully by modeling calm behavior. You as a parent are the first person your little one starts imitating. Everything that you do seems to them as the thing that they also need to do to survive and succeed.
By acting calmly yourself, you can be assured that your child will learn the right responses to the situations they might go through.
- Offer choices
Another idea for you to try and help your child control his emotions is to offer him choices. This can easily be put to practice when it comes to picking kids’ clothes in a store or picking meals at home. Instead of choosing for him, give him two options that you would like him to pick from. This way, the child feels like he has control over the situation and that his opinion is valued. But at the end of the day, you are the one who keeps the situation under control.
- Ask if you can help/offer to do something together
Children learn how to understand and handle their emotions from everything that happens to and for them. When you see your little one going through a difficult patch, ask him if you can help. He might feel better by simply knowing that he has you next to him. It is not all the time that a child knows how to express what he feels, but it is always that he needs his parent’s understanding and support.
- Match their language
Every single person has their own “love language”. More exactly, everyone has a unique way of feeling appreciated or loved. Some people feel good when receiving words of affirmation or receiving gifts, whereas others might prefer quality time. The situation is the same when speaking of children.
By observing your young one’s reactions and preferences, you can make them feel loved through simple gestures. Some examples might be reading a book together, or maybe giving him a nice present such as kids clothes. Depending on the preferences, the child will let you know how he wants to feel appreciated.
- Talk about how they feel and respect it
Children feel the same set of emotions as adults. The main difference is that they have this array of feelings that are focused on certain things that may seem less important than those that adults face. Therefore, being understood and taken seriously when they do choose to display their emotional state is very necessary for their development.
Parents are the most important humans in a child’s life, so having their compassion helps them tremendously. Whenever your child gives signs that something bothers him/her, try talking about his feelings. This, alongside respecting how they feel can change their mood or day.
