Identifying and Naming Feelings
Your growing child is learning new things each day – and that means that they are experiencing a lot of emotions along the way! Naming emotions is not always so simple for your child. Teaching your child about emotions will help them be ready to tackle difficult situations in the future.
What’s the feeling?
Remember that they’re called “feelings” for a reason! A great way to teach your growing child how to recognize their emotions is to help them tune in to how their body feels.
Make observations about your child’s facial expressions and body language to help them learn how their body responds to a particular emotion.
- If you think that your child might be angry, you could say, “I noticed your arms are crossed and you have a frown on your face! Usually, these are signs that a person is angry. Would you say that you are feeling angry right now? Talk with me about what’s going on.”
It’s important for you to support your little one in figuring out how their body feels when they are experiencing different emotions.
- For example, when their hands are sweaty, their heart is beating fast, and it feels like there are butterflies in their stomach, they might be anxious, scared, or nervous!
Incorporate “feeling” words into your daily conversations can help your little one learn about new emotions. Ask your child about their feelings, and share your feelings with them too.
- This can be as simple as saying, “I’m so happy that the sun is out today – that’s why I have such a big smile on my face! How do you feel when it is sunny?”
Talking about emotions.
Now that your child is a little older, they are likely talking up a storm! But while there is a lot that they are able to share with you, they might still struggle with identifying and naming their feelings.
There are a number of simple, everyday ways that you can teach your child about emotions:
1. Sing songs about emotions (e.g., If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands).
2. Play games (e.g., feelings charades).
3. Discuss the emotions of the characters in movies and picture books.
4. Talk about emotions – tell them when you are feeling happy, sad, anxious, excited, and everything in between.
- Let your child try to name different feelings on their own.
- Fill in the words if they are struggling to identify their emotions. When doing this, be careful not to tell your child how they are feeling; instead, suggest some different feeling words and talk with them about which emotion matches up with how they are feeling.
- Remeber, talk to your child about all emotions – even ones that are uncomfortable, less pleasant, or more difficult to identify.
I’m so angry
Hmm, I understand why you think you might be angry, but I’m actually wondering if maybe you’re feeling frustrated? Frustration is the feeling people have when they are having a hard time reaching a goal or finishing something important to them. Does that sound like how you’re feeling right now?
Celebrate when they do share!
You probably praise your child for lots of things – like following directions, sharing with their sibling, and trying a new food. But remembering to praise them for talking about their feelings is just as important!
- When your child identifies and shares their feelings with you, thank them and let them know how proud you are of them.
- Learning to identify feelings is hard work, and your little one will love the encouragement and positive attention!
As your child is able to identify new feelings, the next step is to help them find ways to handle those emotions. Click here to help your child manage their emotions.