Talking About Feelings

Understanding hidden emotions

Understanding hidden emotions

What hidden emotions are Hidden emotions are feelings that a child experiences but does not clearly show. The emotion may be intentionally masked, such as when a child wants to avoid trouble, fit in with peers, or protect a parent from worry. It may also be only partly understood by the child, who can feel […]

Encouraging emotional communication

Encouraging emotional communication

What emotional communication involves Emotional communication is multidimensional. It includes spoken language such as naming an emotion, describing a trigger, requesting help, or explaining a need. It also includes prosody, facial expression, eye gaze, posture, movement, gesture, silence, crying, withdrawal, and behavior. A child who cannot yet say, “I am overwhelmed,” may cover their ears, […]

Helping child talk about emotions

Helping child talk about emotions

Why emotional conversations matter Emotional literacy is the ability to recognize, label, communicate, and think about feelings. It supports self-awareness, interpersonal communication, problem-solving, and developing emotion-regulation skills. These abilities are not fixed traits. They are built through language, observation, practice, and co-regulation, meaning that an adult helps a child manage arousal until the child can […]

Emotional expression and communication in children

Emotional expression and communication in children

What emotional expression means Emotional expression is the observable communication of an internal affective state. It may include a smile, crying, laughter, silence, changes in voice, avoidance, physical closeness, repetitive movement, aggressive behavior, imaginative play, drawing, or a direct statement such as “I am worried.” Expression is not identical to emotion itself: the same feeling […]

Why kids struggle to express feelings

Why kids struggle to express feelings

Feeling an emotion is different from explaining it Emotional expression involves several skills that develop gradually. A child must first notice an internal change, recognize it as an emotion, distinguish it from related states, identify what triggered it, and communicate the experience in a form another person can understand. These steps rely on interoception, language, […]