Photo courtesy of Latina Moms.
Emotions are an innate part of the human psyche. They are what allows us to feel joy, anger, and sadness. It helps us show what we often cannot describe in words. Sometimes, these feelings become so overwhelming that it feels as if they are larger than us, and there is no way to control them.
As adults, we have already gone through the notion of regulating our emotions, so now it is up to us to teach our kids how to understand theirs.
Regulate YOUR Emotions
Our kids watch our every move. They pick up on our behaviors, how we react, and our outlook and attitude towards life. We are their role models, whether we realize it or not. This means you have to be careful about how you act around your kids.
The first and most important step of teaching your kids how to regulate their emotions is by being mindful of how you react to stressors in your everyday life.
If you constantly respond with anger or have extreme bursts of emotion for any mild inconvenience you may face, then you cannot expect your kids to be able to regulate their emotions.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is best defined as the ability for people to manage and react to their emotions adequately while taking into consideration others’ emotions. Having a high emotional intelligence goes hand in hand with regulating your emotions because it allows you to be aware of your behaviors.
Teaching your kids about the basic concept of emotional intelligence will help them in their journey to regulating their emotions. For example, training your kids on what certain emotions mean or feel like can help them understand what they are feeling.
If your kid is crying, you might reinforce this emotion by telling them you notice they are sad. This will help your kids identify what they are feeling and be better equipped to cope with them.
Develop Healthy Coping Mechanisms
Now, it is only natural that our kids will feel inundated with emotion some days. It can be because they do not fully understand what is going on or feel frustrated because they do not know how to describe their emotions to you.
Enter the art of coping mechanisms.
Allow your kids a period to cool off, teach them how to meditate, and give them space (but watch from a safe distance). This will provide them with the freedom to self-soothe and feel calm, which is a successful way for children to regulate their emotions.
Moms, let’s help set our kids up for success by teaching them how to interact with the ever-changing world around them.