Here are some tips for Parents and Educators to help children with Emotional Regulation:

1. Identify the Emotion

• Encourage awareness: Ask, "How are you feeling right now?" or use tools like emotion charts with faces and labels.

• Teach them to name their emotions: "You seem angry," or "You look excited."

2. Validate Their Feelings

• Let them know it’s okay to feel emotions: "It's normal to feel upset when something doesn’t go as planned."

• Avoid dismissing or minimizing their feelings.

3. Pause and Breathe

• Teach simple calming techniques:

  • Deep breathing: "Let’s take a deep breath in through our nose and blow out through our mouth like we’re blowing out a candle."

  • Count to five: Slowly count to calm the body and mind.

4. Understand the Trigger

• Ask questions to identify what caused the feeling: "What happened right before you felt this way?"

• Encourage them to describe the situation.

5. Teach Coping Strategies

• Offer specific tools:

  • Drawing or writing about feelings.

  • Squeezing a stress ball or playing with a sensory toy.

  • Taking a quiet break in a designated calm-down corner.

• Suggest problem-solving: "What can we do to make this better?"

6. Model Emotional Regulation

• Demonstrate how you manage your emotions: "I’m feeling frustrated, so I’m going to take a deep breath and think about what to do next."

7. Practice Positive Self-Talk

• Replace negative thoughts with empowering ones: "I can handle this," or "It’s okay to make mistakes; I’ll try again."

8. Reflect and Reinforce

• After the situation, discuss what worked: "What helped you feel better?"

• Praise their efforts: "You were able calming yourself down!"

Having a place in your home or classroom where children can go to regulate their emotions can help them feel safe and supported.