One of the best ways to do this is to use books, and ‘Fantastic Feelings’ has been designed as a tool for adults to use to engage children in ‘feelings’ talk in a low- key and enjoyable way.
Being able to talk about our feelings is so important to our emotional wellbeing and mental health. But children are not always very good at this, and they tend to act out their feelings and so will use strops, tantrums and meltdowns or just ‘difficult’ behaviour to express how they feel.
The poems in this collection are about situations that all children will recognise: Going to school, making friends, arguing with siblings, going shopping, playing at the beach, to name but a few.
They will also recognise many of the emotions being felt by the children on each page, and will have the opportunity to talk about these emotions in a way that enhances their understanding and increases their emotional vocabulary.
There are activities included that will act has prompts and conversation starters, and some short stories whose main characters experience a whole range of emotions, together with some helpful notes for adults at the back.
In my work as a Parent Coach I am often called upon to support parents who are struggling with difficult behaviour, and part of the solution will always include finding ways to help children understand and talk about their emotions.
Here’s what one parent said
‘My 7yo book worm absolutely loved the poems and we had some very interesting talks around the topics. We had experienced some little dramas at school and the book helped us develop resilience and get a better understanding of the world of feelings and emotions. A great book for developing emotional intelligence’.
Nurturing your child’s emotional wellbeing is a huge part of parenting, but it needn’t be a difficult task. I suggest a daily ‘feelings’ check in, and this might be as simple as reading a poem or story from the book and having a relaxed chat about it, or perhaps doing one of the fun activities as a family.
‘Fantastic Feelings’ by Jane Rogers is available on Amazon now.
Guest blog by Jane Rogers.