Hey Parents! Have you ever experienced this before? Your child is upset, but no matter what you do and say you can’t figure out what is wrong? We want to share an awesome resource with you for helping your children develop a vocabulary for their emotions. When we show up for our children, they feel loved, and we can help them to feel understood when we see them. After you download this feelings wheel from our friends at The Seen Book, hang it up on the refrigerator for reference. Then, when the right time comes you can start with simple questions and statements like…
“You seem like you feel really sad right now. Can you tell me more about that?”
“That must have made you feel so scared. I want to hear more.”
“Wow! Did that make you feel surprised? What are you feeling now?”
“I’ve experienced feeling so mad I can’t think straight. Is that how you were feeling?”
Open up the conversation with the first step on the feeling wheel and then guide them into telling you more. With little kids you can lead them into deeper levels of understanding by saying, “It sounds like you are feeling _______, does that seem right?” And with older kids you can even show them this wheel and say, “Do any of these feelings resonate with you right now?”
We hope this tool is a helpful starting point for helping your kids to feel understood. We know this is hard – keep fighting for connection…it’s worth it!