Do you want to delve into your children’s emotions in a fun way? We explain some games appropriate for various ages.
Children’s emotions are taken into account more today than in the past. Of course, in other historical moments, all dimensions of childhood were considered, including the emotional one. Nevertheless, It has been in recent decades that more importance has been given to this issue.
In this way, from the educational, pedagogical and psychological fields, the appropriate management of emotions is considered very important for a good child-adolescent development. This is because good emotional regulation in childhood has a positive impact on conflict resolution at that age and as adults.
Now, can the little ones really learn to manage their own emotions? From what age? In the following space we solve these questions and We detail some activities that help your work.
How can children’s emotions be worked on?
It is said that children are like “sponges” since they have an extraordinary capacity to learn. However, it is necessary to find the right way to bring knowledge to your level.
That said, if we want to work on emotions at this stage, First of all, we will not be able to do it with very abstract concepts. If we do it that way, they probably won’t understand anything we want them to learn.
On the contrary, if we simplify the ideas, use their own language and their favorite means of learning, they will easily become familiar with the new concepts and integrate them into their knowledge.
10 activities to work on children’s emotions
As pointed out in an article published in National Association for the Education of Young Children , Emotions impact attention, memory, and learning. In addition, they are determinant for building social relationships and for general well-being.
That said, promoting the development of emotional intelligence from childhood has repercussions in many areas of adult life. For this reason, we share 10 activities that help work children’s emotions. Put them into practice!
1. Dictionary of emotions
So that children can become familiar with their emotions, a good exercise is to understand exactly what each of them means. It can be done from the age of two and can be adapted to any age.
The activity consists of selecting photographs of people expressing a certain emotion. Once we have them, we will cut them out and paste them into a notebook. Next to them we will write the name of the emotion.
Depending on the age of the child, we may reflect on the emotion or have the child write about it. If they are very young children, we will use only basic emotions such as joy, sadness or anger. If, on the other hand, they are older, we can select more complex emotions.
2. Notebook of emotions
On many occasions, children do not know how to channel their emotions when they are feeling them, especially if they are unpleasant. A good way to channel them is through drawing.
The child will have a notebook in which he can draw his emotions whenever he needs to. A) Yes, You will be able to scribble or draw more details depending on the moment and the emotion.
It would be interesting to be able to accompany him in the process and reflect on his drawing. If the child is upset and does not feel like talking, it is better to postpone it until when he is calmer.
3. Diary of emotions
When children have mastered writing, a good habit is to Every day write down the emotions that have affected you the most.. To facilitate adherence to the activity, the first days we can do it together with them in the form of reflection.
Once they have understood the dynamics, they will be able to do it on their own in the way that is most attractive to them; like a journal, also adding some drawings, selecting the most prominent emotions of the day or listing the reasons for which you feel grateful that day.
4. Corner of calm
Another good resource for children to better manage their emotions is that at home we have a space that they associate with tranquility. When for some reason they feel overwhelmed by their emotions, they can go there and relax.
To make it more effective, we can decorate the space together with them and decide together which elements and which colors help them to be more relaxed. If we as adults also use that space to calm down, children will more easily associate that corner with managing their emotions.
5. Read stories
Today there are a large number of children’s stories intended to work on children’s emotions. Their arguments facilitate introspection and help them get to know themselves better.
Even so, any story we have at home can be a good tool for working on emotions. All we have to do is reflect on the characters.
We can ask questions such as:
- How do you think the protagonist feels?
- Why do you think it feels that way?
- What would you do instead?
- What could you do to feel better?
6. Combine music and artistic expression
A good activity for children to learn to channel their emotions is to do it through music. To do this, we will select different pieces of music; some calmer, others more energetic, others happy, funny or melancholic.
We will reproduce them and make it easier for the child to express what he feels through dance, painting, drawing or mime. The important is that Connect with the emotions that music generates in you and find a way to channel them.
7. Good News Jar
For this activity we can use a glass container or a decorated box. We will also need to have small sheets, a pencil and colors right next to it.
What we will encourage is that the child can draw or write on paper all the good things that happen to you. We will keep it in the container and from time to time we will read the good news. It will be quite useful if the child is having a bad day.
8. Mimicry of emotions
This simple activity to do in a group consists of writing down different emotions on different papers or cards. Then, one of the children must select one without the others seeing it and, through mime, represent what it means.
Others children will have to guess what emotion is being described through the gestures. The child who guesses it will be the next to go out to mime.
9. Theater of emotions
This is a good activity for group work. Each child will choose a character – be it himself, through puppets or other toys – and will represent a specific emotion from the story they want to represent.
10. Thermometer of emotions
Together with the child, we will draw two thermometers on a piece of cardboard. Right next to it we will also paint some faces that express emotions. Next to the first thermometer, the most uncomfortable emotions. From apathy and sadness at the lowest temperature, to nerves, anger and rage at the highest temperature.
Next to the second thermometer we will draw the most positive emotions. In the lowest temperature the most relaxed, such as tranquility, serenity or being happy, to the most active in high temperatures, type happiness, enthusiasm or joy.
General benefits of working with children’s emotions
The benefits that deep knowledge of their emotions brings to children affects various areas. A) Yes, It not only helps them on an individual level, but in the relationship with their classmates, with their friends or with their families. To be more precise, some benefits are as follows:
- Deepen your self-awareness.
- Have greater self-control.
- Better accept your emotions, comfortable or uncomfortable.
- Feel more confident in themselves.
- Increase your self-esteem.
- Increase your adaptability.
- Be more proactive and responsible for what happens to them.
- Improve your social skills.
- Develop your empathic capacity.
- Build healthier relationships with other people.
- Manage conflicts with other children more adequately.
- Work better as a team.
- Have a better life at home.
- Improve your academic performance.
Final recommendations for working on children’s emotions
We can infer that developing emotional intelligence through recreational activities provides good psychological tools both in the short and long term. Nevertheless, As adults we must respect the learning pace of children. In other words, we cannot force learning, no matter how valuable it may be.
Flexibility in education is essential, and the little ones are not always willing to learn what we want to show them. Therefore, the best way to teach how to manage emotions is through example.
If we ourselves develop good emotional intelligence, we will teach them naturally on a day-to-day basis. Through our non-verbal language, our conversations, our actions and also our mistakes they will be able to learn as much or more than with any game.
Therefore, the acquisition of emotional resources is not just a matter of children. The more we bet on our own emotional intelligence, the greater the resources and strategies that we can transmit to our little ones.