If you have ever tried to talk to a toddler about feelings, or teach a school aged child you have probably tried some of the following:
- Asked them what feeling is being represented on someone else’s face or in a picture
- Made links between common feelings and events such as feeling excited about a birthday party
- Read books about feelings
These are all great ways to explore feelings and emotions but the strategies do miss one important step. That step is to explore a question.
Do you know what you are feeling? And… Hhow do you know??
For children to understand what others are feeling, or even to recognise their own feelings, we need to talk more about “how “we feel a feeling. We do this through what is now considered to be our eighth sense using our interoception.
Two different people may experience a feeling differently in their own bodies. This is ok as we are all unique. However, in broad discussions it is likely that you will find some common experiences on the presentation of emotions in our bodies.
- Sadness may make our eyes feel prickly, our hearts heavy
- Fear may make our heart beat faster, our body feel energised or maybe frozen
- Embarrassment may make our palms sweaty and our mouth dry
- Love may make us feel light and like we are walking on air
For children to identify, acknowledge and manage emotions they first need to be able to recognise when emotions surface. So next time you discuss emotions with kids, ask the question, “How do you know?
How Play Therapy Can Help
Emotional learning is a life skill. To some this skill may come naturally but to many, including those who are neurodiverse, have developmental delays, have experienced some challenging life events or trauma, some extra support in this area can make a huge difference. If you feel your child and family may benefit from working with a professional in this area please reach out and contact us. We look forward to answering any questions you might have.
