Schools are gradually beginning to open up for onsite learning again. Now, more then ever, we need to nurture our youth to be resilient and to develop skills to manage their emotions. In this article, I will be outlining a few strategies/suggestions that could help your children learn to better manage their emotions.
Firstly, ask them open ended questions like ‘what was the happiest moment you had today? what was the saddest moment?’. Having these discussions can empower youth by creating a space where they are safe to discuss their emotions and process what they are going through. If your children don’t want to talk about it, maybe think make to a time when they were willing to talk about their emotions and consider what is different now? Addressing, any underlining issues can go a long way in supporting your children to talk. It is also worth relecting upon your tone and voice, where you are having the discussion and what else is going on at the time.
Secondly, encourage you children to pursue various hobbies and interests. Things like art, music, drama, drawing, sports, exercise etc can be a great outlet for pent out emotions. As they can help your children to express and vent their emotions in a healthy way.
Thirdly, assist them to manage routines. If they have stable routines then it can be easier to manage their emotions. Establishing an early bed time and a morning routine before they go back to school can help them feel confident toing back to school. This is a time of transitions and transitions are never easy. But take one day at a time. Be patient with yourself and your children to keep moving forward.