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Children experience complex feelings just like adults and get frustrated, excited, nervous, sad, jealous, frightened, worried, angry and embarrassed. Children don’t have the knowledge, understanding or words to be able to talk about and express how they are feeling to adults. Instead they communicate their feelings in other ways.
Children develop emotional skills as they are exposed to different situations and scenarios. Recognising and naming emotions helps children understand and manage their own emotions. Managing emotions is called emotional regulation.
There are four main components to emotional development in children:
Babies start to develop basic emotions such as joy, anger, sadness and fear shortly after birth and then develop more complex emotions such as shyness, surprise, shame and guilt as they get older.
Emotional dysregulation is when a child experiences difficulty with registering emotions and responding with emotions in an appropriate way.
Some common signs of emotional dysregulation to look out for are:
Being a parent means you’ve got a really important role to play in helping children understand their feelings and behaviours.
Some of the ways that you can help your child learn about and express their feelings:
If you are concerned about your child's ability to manage their emotions you can speak with your general practitioner (GP), pediatrician or Maternal Child Health nurse.
Every parent wants their children to excel and succeed in life, but when competitiveness gets out of hand, it can lead to stress, anxiety, and strained relationships. Managing competitive children requires a delicate balance between building their ambition and ensuring their emotional wellbeing. In this article, we will explore strategies for nurturing healthy competitiveness and guiding your child towards a more balanced approach.
Parenting is a difficult journey filled with challenges and successes. One of the most common challenges many parents face is managing their child's behaviour. Children often need guidance in developing positive habits and behaviours. Reward charts, also known as behaviour charts or sticker charts, have proven to be an effective and useful tool in shaping children's behaviour through positive reinforcement.
Parenting is a difficult journey, filled with joy, laughter, and the occasional tantrum and meltdown. Tantrums are a normal part of childhood development and are often a result of a child's inability to express and manage their emotions effectively. While these outbursts can be challenging for both parents and caregivers, it's crucial as the adult, to maintain a calm composure and respond with patience and understanding. Below are some strategies for handling your child’s tantrums and keeping your cool.
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FamilyAssist is a Latrobe Health Innovation Zone initiative funded by the State Government.
The Latrobe Health Assembly respectfully acknowledges Aboriginal people as the Original Custodians of the land we walk on today – the land of the Braiakaulung people of the Gunaikurnai nation and passes on respect to their elders past and present, future and emerging.