For children to effectively identify and express their feelings, they need a robust emotional vocabulary. Most kids are familiar with basic emotions like happy, mad, sad, and frustrated. From there, you can help them expand their vocabulary to include more complex emotions such as pride, loneliness, and shame. Understanding the meaning of these emotions is equally important. Here are a few tips to get started:
1. Use Visual Cues
There are numerous resources to help kids expand their emotional vocabulary. For younger children, you can hang pictures of “feeling faces.” A quick Google search will provide many options for illustrated faces, real faces, posters, and cards. You can even create your own by taking pictures of your kids showing different emotions and printing them out. For older children, a list of emotions can expose them to a broader vocabulary. Highlighting a feeling each day or week and discussing situations that might trigger that emotion helps kids learn about new feelings in a personal way.
2. Sportscast For Them
Kids don’t automatically know what they’re feeling and need help identifying their emotions. Sportscasting involves narrating their feelings to help them connect the word with their experiences. For example, if you see a toddler crying because a friend took a toy, you might say, “It looks like you’re angry/sad/frustrated because Sam took the truck from you.” With an older child upset because their best friend ignored them at lunch, you could say, “It seems like you’re sad and confused because Monica sat with other kids during lunch instead of with you.” Over time, children will learn to identify and express their feelings similarly.
3. Model Talking About Your Feelings
Children learn best by watching you. It can be uncomfortable for caregivers to share their feelings because we often feel the need to stay calm and collected. However, demonstrating how to talk about and manage big emotions like anger, shame, and fear is invaluable. Make sure to express your feelings in ways that are age-appropriate for the children you care for, but know that all ages can benefit from this modeling.
Teaching kids an emotional vocabulary can start at any age and is foundational for their development. It paves the way for many other essential life skills they’ll need for happy, healthy lives.
