Emotional Regulation – Part 1: Recognizing What’s Wrong
You’ll learn key tools to help you and your child recognize and manage stress and anxiety. Understanding and managing energy levels helps parents guide their children toward balanced emotional regulation.
Instant Insights
Deep Dive
Key Takeaways
Understanding Emotional Regulation
Importance of Emotional Regulation
Function of Emotions
Emotions are electrical signals triggering action (e-motion). They drive our responses and behavior, serving as fundamental motivators in our daily lives.
Impact on Mental Health
Energy Management
Bell Curve of Productivity
Practical Application
Parental Role
Building Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Regulation Tools
These tools collectively help children and parents navigate their complex emotions, fostering better emotional regulation and mental well-being.
Body Scan
The Body Scan is a mindfulness technique aimed at helping older children and adults recognize the physical signs of stress, anxiety, and other negative emotions in their bodies. The process involves:
- Finding a comfortable position, either sitting or standing.
- Taking slow, deep breaths to relax and focus.
- Bringing attention to different parts of the body, starting from the feet and moving upwards.
- Observing the sensations in each area, noting any tension or discomfort.
- Using this awareness to identify emotional states and facilitate relaxation.
This practice helps individuals become more aware of their bodily sensations, which can be indicative of their emotional states, and aids in managing and releasing tension.
Give me a Squeeze
“Give me a Squeeze” is a simple, tactile technique designed for younger children to help them communicate their emotional state. This method involves:
- The child squeezing an object, like a parent’s hand or a stress ball, to demonstrate the intensity of their emotions.
- Parents can gauge the child’s emotional state based on the strength and frequency of the squeezes.
- This physical expression provides an outlet for emotions and helps parents understand their child’s feelings without the need for verbal communication.
This tool is particularly useful for children who may not yet have the vocabulary to express their emotions verbally.
Think-a-Rator
The Think-a-Rator is a tool to help children of all ages rate the importance of events and regulate their emotional responses accordingly. This method includes:
- Encouraging the child to rate the significance of an event or issue on a scale from 0 to 10.
- Helping the child assign appropriate emotional energy to the event based on its rating.
- Teaching the child to distinguish between minor and major issues, thus learning to manage their emotions more effectively.
The Think-a-Rator helps children develop a more balanced approach to their emotions by assessing situations realistically and responding proportionately.
Additional Resources
Building Emotional Regulation Skills for Children: Why It Matters
Anybody who’s ever had a child – or who has...
How To Deal With Children Who Are Having Tantrums
Emotional Wabi-Sabi
Course Content
For school leaders & community organizers, click here for additional resources.
