4 Ways To Help Kids Deal With Big Feelings

It’s normal for children to feel overwhelming sadness and anger sometimes, especially when they can’t understand why some situations happen. As a parent, you are responsible for ensuring that they can appropriately handle their feelings. This way, they’ll be able to increase their emotional intelligence, helping them become more attentive and develop positive relationships. 

Here’s a four-item list for doing so: 

• Encourage Them To Express Their Feelings 

Most kids aren’t always good at communicating their feelings because they might not know what to say. It’s not easy for them to express their emotions, especially if they feel embarrassed or afraid of the reaction of adults. But they can learn a lot from sharing their thoughts and feelings, especially from someone they trust. 

With this in mind, you can help your child by guiding them as they identify what they’re feeling. You can use an ‘emotions check in chart’ to help you have healthy conversations about your thoughts. 

Using this map, help your child determine what triggered their emotions to help them understand themselves better. Then you can encourage them to talk about it so that you can work together on coming up with solutions that will help them move past the situation that caused this reaction. 

• Listen With Empathy And Understanding 

Once your child opens up to you, you must listen and not judge. You can acknowledge their words to make your child feel heard and understood. 

You can do this by paraphrasing your child’s words and asking questions to get more information about their feelings. From there, let them know they can express their emotions with you by allowing them to cry or yell at a pillow. This will allow them to release the stress they may be holding in, helping them process what’s happening inside them. 

• Help Them Practice Self-Soothing Techniques 

Self-soothing can help your child enhance their ability to manage their feelings and deal with challenging situations. In the short term, this could mean helping your child learn to calm down after a tantrum or help them cope with anger. Teaching kids to regulate their emotions can stop anxiety or depression from developing later in life. 

Here are some self-soothing practices that you can teach your child: 

• Deep Breathing: Teaching your child mindfulness can help them release their feelings more calmly. This method includes taking slow and deep breaths, holding their breath for a few seconds, and exhaling comfortably. You may do this with them by finding a quiet place to sit or lying on the floor together to support and guide them. 
• Taking A Break: Kids need to take breaks when they feel overwhelmed by emotions. Give your child the space to calm down, whether for a few minutes or an hour. This will allow them to reflect on the situation rather than react. 
• Finding Mood Boosters: You can also help your child find activities that make them feel good. They might like reading a book, listening to music, or playing with a toy they enjoy. However, make sure that this won’t be their way to escape from their feelings. Instead, use this to talk about their emotions and help them address them while having fun. 

Self-soothing helps your child to recover from their intense emotions and avoid reacting immediately. This can save them from acting out and making decisions that could get them in trouble. 

• Seek Guidance From Experts 

Parenting can be tricky, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. Knowing how to guide your child in dealing with overwhelming emotions is challenging. This might cause your child to develop toxic coping mechanisms like avoidance or self-harm. 

An excellent way to combat this issue is by seeking guidance from experts. You can read articles online, but ensure they’re from reliable sources to determine which techniques work best for most parents. 

You may also consult mental health professionals within your area to seek guidance about your child’s feelings. They can also help you identify triggers that might be causing your child to develop negative behaviors that could affect their development as they age. In this case, your child will have to go through therapy to help them be aware of their thoughts and emotions. 

Key Takeaway 

Emotions in childhood can be overwhelming, especially if children have to go through it alone. Without proper guidance, they might develop mental health issues, like depression and anxiety, which could affect them later in life. 

So, as a parent, you must be able to help your child navigate stress as they deal with extreme feelings to avoid this. You can encourage them to talk to you and teach them self-soothing practices to help them get through intense emotions. 

If you need more guidance with this, you can seek expert guidance. They can help your child follow ways to recognize and process their emotions. This way, your kid can cope with situations without letting them disrupt their lives.