Big Feelings & Calming Down

Emotional coping strategies children

Emotional coping strategies children

Understanding emotional coping in childhood Emotional coping refers to the thoughts, behaviors, and relational supports a child uses to manage internal distress or respond to an external stressor. Emotion regulation is closely related: it includes identifying an emotion, modulating its intensity, delaying an impulsive response, and returning to an organized state. These abilities depend on […]

Teaching emotional control

Teaching emotional control

What emotional control really means Children are often told to “calm down” before they have the skills to do it. A more useful frame is to teach emotional control as a sequence: notice the feeling, name it, understand what the body is doing, and choose a response. That sequence depends on executive function, especially inhibition, […]

Helping child calm down

Helping child calm down

Start with safety and connection Before trying to teach a technique, assess immediate safety. Move dangerous objects away, create physical space, and guide other children to a quieter area if necessary. A child who is highly aroused may have reduced access to language, reasoning, and impulse control. Long explanations, repeated questions, or demands for an […]

Emotional regulation and self control skills in children

Emotional regulation and self control skills in children

What emotional regulation and self-control mean Emotional regulation refers to the processes children use to monitor, evaluate, and modify emotional responses. Regulation may involve reducing the intensity of anger, tolerating anxiety long enough to ask for help, shifting attention away from a frustrating event, or sustaining positive excitement without becoming disorganized. It includes both internal […]

Emotional regulation children

Emotional regulation children

What emotional regulation means Emotional regulation includes several related capacities: recognizing an internal state, identifying and communicating the feeling, tolerating emotional intensity, modifying arousal, delaying an impulse, shifting attention, and selecting a constructive response. Regulation does not mean suppressing emotion or remaining calm at all times. A regulated child may still feel angry, frightened, disappointed, […]

Building emotional awareness in kids

Building emotional awareness in kids

What emotional awareness looks like in childhood Emotional awareness develops gradually rather than appearing as a single milestone. A young child may first communicate distress through crying, withdrawal, clinging, aggression, or changes in activity. Over time, the child may learn to associate these reactions with simple labels such as sad, mad, scared, or excited. Older […]