Helping Little People Manage BIG Emotions
Helping Little People Manage BIG Emotions
As parents and educators, part of our job description includes helping little people manage BIG emotions. The more out of control a child gets, the more she looks to us to demonstrate a sense of calm. When our behavior starts to mirror that of the child who is on a slippery slope to emotional mayhem, there is little hope left to assist her.
It's Not Personal
Remember that a child who is emotionally out of control is not going out of her way to inconvenience you, but rather, is asking you for assistance. Don't personalize!
Presto ~ Change-o
So what's a parent or teacher to do? How can they rein in their own emotions when their child is pushing all of their buttons? The secret is changing what you think. When you change how you think, you change how you feel. And that makes all the difference. For your child and for you!
Here's How Easy It Is
It's Not Personal
Remember that a child who is emotionally out of control is not going out of her way to inconvenience you, but rather, is asking you for assistance. Don't personalize!
Presto ~ Change-o
So what's a parent or teacher to do? How can they rein in their own emotions when their child is pushing all of their buttons? The secret is changing what you think. When you change how you think, you change how you feel. And that makes all the difference. For your child and for you!
Here's How Easy It Is
Do things like this sometimes (or often) cross your mind when your child is losing emotional control?
"I'm sick of this!"
"I can't stand this!"
"This is going to be the end of me!"
If so, you wouldn't be alone. Our kids' emotional outbursts can trigger us and drum up lots of our own emotional baggage. It doesn't have to, though, if we pay a little closer attention to what's going on inside us.
We can replace those thoughts from above with more balanced thinking:
"I can handle this!"
"This kid needs me to model calm!"
"Here's my chance to help him deal with big emotions".
Calm Yourself Before You Calm Your Child
See how simple and easy it can be? Come up with your own balanced thoughts to calm things down inside your own head the next time things get heated. Write them down and keep them posted on your fridge. This really, really works! Change your own thinking, so you can teach your child to do the same.
See how simple and easy it can be? Come up with your own balanced thoughts to calm things down inside your own head the next time things get heated. Write them down and keep them posted on your fridge. This really, really works! Change your own thinking, so you can teach your child to do the same.
We can literally start to change the emotional health of this world by how we help our kids learn to manage BIG emotions. Ready? Set? Go!
Looking to learn more? Dr. Lynne Kenney and I have co-authored BLOOM: 50 Things to Say, Think and Do with Anxious Angry and Over-the-Top Kids to help you do just that! Get all of our tips in one place. You'll refer to it again and again!
Looking to learn more? Dr. Lynne Kenney and I have co-authored BLOOM: 50 Things to Say, Think and Do with Anxious Angry and Over-the-Top Kids to help you do just that! Get all of our tips in one place. You'll refer to it again and again!
Stop Screaming and Teach Your Kids to Do the Same!
Need help teaching a child how to better handle BIG angry feelings? We have the antidote. It's the sweetest way to help kids learn self-regulation skills surrounding anger. If you wish to use therapeutic grade interventions based in science and developed by a mom who is also a practicing child and adolescent therapist, you've come to the right place!
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