Emotional Self-Regulation in First Grade (page 2)

Furious First Graders. Six tips for parents to teach children about emotional control. 

Children who develop strategies to manage their emotions tend to be healthier, make friends more easily, rebound from setbacks faster, and do better in school. Wow! So how do parents teach emotional regulation, especially when their first grader is yelling? After all, it’s not always easy for parents to respond appropriately, particularly when everyone involved is tired. 

How You Can Help

Here are a few ways that parents can help children to understand their emotions and learn appropriate behavior: 

1. Tune in. What are your child’s expressions of anger? Sadness? Pay attention to your child, get to know how they feel. 
2. Accept. Every emotions is natural, whether it’s frustration or joy. Tell your child that others feel the same way as they do. 
3. Label. Reflecting your child’s feelings to them enables them to recognize what they’re going through. “Are you feeling sad?” In this way, they can learn the language of emotions when they talk to others. 
4. Guide. Look out for early warning signs of tantrums or conflict. Encourage your child to put into words why they feel annoyed or sad. 
5. Define. Let your child know about acceptable ways of letting out excess energy or emotion, for example, running, listening to music, or even punching a pillow. 
6. Solve. Discuss techniques to manage emotions. Talk about how you handle your own feelings. Ask your child which ways might work for him or her. 

For more information on children’s feelings, please see the full article: