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Children's social and emotional skills begin to develop from a very young age. Building a good understanding of emotions when you are young helps you relate to others and manage your own mental health later on. At Ecole Jacques Prévert, we recognise the importance of promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing to our students and their families. We aim to create an open culture around the discussion of mental health and wellbeing and to empower our children be able to regulate their emotions. On Thursday 16^th March, we have organised for all the CM children to attend a workshop on Relationships and Communication that will focus on managing emotional triggers to stay in charge of our words and actions and how this can stop us from harming those we love. There will also be some discussions around protecting ourselves emotionally, and how this can help us think clearly, make wiser choices and how to respond when people we care about do or say things that feel hurtful.

Talking openly with the children about how they feel and why, enables them to start recognising, understanding, and regulating different emotions. Follow these simple steps to start a conversation:

1. Start Talking

Try asking your child to describe how they are feeling, and follow up with open questions about what has happened to make them feel this way - 'Tell me about how you are feeling' or 'What has happened to make you feel like this?' Talking will help your child process their feelings and make sense of them, as well as calming them down.

2. Put a Label on It

Once your child has described how they are feeling, help them put a label on it - are they angry, worried, scared or frustrated? Doing this enhances their vocabulary and makes it easier to recognise the emotion the next time they experience it.

3. Validate the Feeling

It is important that children know that it is okay to feel different emotions, even if it is not a nice feeling. Experiencing emotions like jealousy, envy or even feeling selfish can help us learn about ourselves and other people. Reinforce to your child that we all experience challenging feelings. 

4. Share Your Stories

There are lots of complex emotions that might seem hard to describe to your child. Help them understand by giving examples of a time you felt this way. You could describe what happened to make you feel this way and share what you did to make yourself feel better. 

See below for some useful links and resources - the NSPCC monthly subscription to 'Amazing Me' looks fantastic and I know families that have subscribed have really enjoyed the activities and found them very useful. It is aimed at children aged 5-9 and is developed in collaboration with child psychotherapists and mindfulness experts, helping your child develop emotional resilience and wellbeing.

As always, please reach out and get in touch if you need any support.

Best wishes, 

Mrs Weber


Resources to Support 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/joinin/seven-techniques-for-helping-kids-keep-calm

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-colour-monster/anna-llenas/9781783704231

https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-for-children-kids-activities/

https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone
 
If your child is 8+, the Pixar film Inside Out is a lovely way to explore feelings and emotions.