RESOURCES for EMOTIONAL REGULATION
Here are some resources for building awareness of emotions!
As always - take what works for you and leave the rest!
We know it isn't possible to debrief every time big emotions come
up for our kids. Importantly, you need to be relaxed and in a state to be present. And , if you are standing in line at the grocery store, it likely isn't the environment that will support debriefing emotions! You know your child best and therefore, you know when is a good time to facilitate some reflection and awareness building.
As soon as possible, after your child has returned to a relaxed state, using a few questions or prompts, or activities can help them work through the emotions they just experienced, and is helpful for kids of all ages for a few reasons:
It is timely = it will get remembered as part of the event.
It will be more meaningful.
It normalizes all emotions.
It lets your child know they are accepted and "okay" when they are having a hard time = secure attachment and co-regulation
Overall, it creates a system for your child to build on: to understand emotions, work with them, and then be able to express what they need in supportive ways.
Focus on little and big emotions and situations.
LANGUAGE has power.
There is a tendency to label emotions and situations with “good and bad” , "positive" and "negative" and “right and wrong” language.
I encourage you to replace those with: "helpful" and "unhelpful" or "pleasant" and "unpleasant". You might start with yourself and your experiences first! ✨
There are a variety of activities and question prompts you can use from these resources:
Suggestions below each resource are adapted from website source*
EMOTION FACES
Encourage your child to select an emotion from the sheet to describe how they're currently feeling as a check in
Periodically ask your child to check in with the emotion faces during their "stories". Let them select the emotion that best represents how they were feeling.
Cut out each of the emotion faces, and put them in a bowl. Ask each family member to select an emotion, and share a story about that emotion.
Use the cards so your child can learn what you look like when you are feeling a particular way. They might pick a card that represents "surprised" and you make a surprised face and body gestures.
Play "emotions" charades.
ANGER
You can use these cards to help kids manage anger in the moment. You might debrief with them afterwards: what did they notice about what they tried? Did it work better than the previous card? How?
WHERE DO I FEEL... body template.
Use art to teach youth to name, identify, and recognize their emotions, and their associated bodily sensations.
Ask your child to choose a colour to represent each emotion, and then colour in the part of the body where they experience that feeling. For example, children might color fists red to represent anger. Happiness might be a yellow glow.
Let your child be creative with this art therapy project, and you'll find that it's a good way to get kids talking about their feelings. You can do this multiple times. Perhaps spend a bit of extra time discussing specific bodily sensations that accompany emotions. For example, what does anger feel like in your fist? Does it hurt, or does it feel good? Improving this form of insight will help children become more aware of their emotions in the moments when emotions come on strong.
EMOTION THERMOMETERS
Use Emotion Thermometers as part of a check-in routine.
Help children put a name with their feelings by completing this exercise after sharing a story (e.g. “How did you feel when that happened?”), or when they are visibly experiencing an emotion.
Teach empathy by exploring the emotions of others. Use this resource to explore how someone else might feel.
I FEEL ... WHEN... scenario cards
BODY CENTERED/SENSORY ACTVITIES:
MODELLING
Model your own strategies. Do this on numerous occasions. Let kids know what you’re doing and why. Then self-affirm by stating how helpful it was for you.
Invite your kids to share their observations afterwards. When did they notice a difference in you? What did they notice change?
Face? Body?
When you model your own strategies, they have opportunities to watch and learn. You can invite your kids to participate with you, which builds these neural pathways as well. Then you have a shared experience to use for co-regulation or cue them to use it as a strategy themselves.
ROLE PLAY
Role play is a great way to use visualization and rehearsal strategies to support your child - and can be used before or after a situation. You can also use puppets or stuffed animals for smaller children.
What have you found works for your emotional regulation?
What works for your kiddos?
Feel free to make a comment or ask questions 🙋
54 St James Street,
Liverpool,
L1 0AB
Email: emma.weaver@adhdfoundation.org