Valentine’s Day was an ideal time to talk about the emotion of love, the social aspect of friends and how that makes us feel happy. But kids need to talk and learn about all their feelings. Learning the names of basic feelings is more than just matching. Kids often need adults to identify or label these feelings for them. For instance, we might need to say to a child “I see that you are sad. Are you having a feeling that is not happy?” to help a little one understand how s/he feels. Or, “I notice a scowl on your face, kind of a stormy look. That tells me you might be feeling pretty angry. Is that what you are feeling?” Commenting on a child’s feelings, gives the child words that s/he does not yet know and helps make the connection between the words and the feelings. It’s easier for kids to talk about feelings when they know the words. Being able to express their feelings will help children with more than kindergarten readiness.
Some emotions to identify or label for kids might include: happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, silly, disappointed and calm. Especially calm, so when we ask kids to calm down they know what calm is! I made a few simple faces on some heart shapes that I can cut out and use with young children to show and talk about. Drawing is not easy for me, so if I can do this, you can easily draw some too. These may help as you talk with your child about different feelings–and remind you of ones to label for your little one. Here and there throughout the day, can you sprinkle around a few feeling words for your child?
