#Wheel emotions how to#

The idea is that it’s somewhere your child can easily see and access it. This can be on the fridge, for example, or in your child’s bedroom.

#Wheel emotions how to#

And so when introducing an emotions chart to a child, it’s really important to identify and then you can move on to the more complex emotions such as anxiety, frustration, proud, excited, etc.” 3 tips for how to use a feelings chart at home But then when you ask the child, ‘What does anxious mean?’ you’ll find out that they don’t have a clue! “A feeling or emotions chart is a simple visual that helps the child understand that frustration is a form of anger.

You might say, ‘Oh my child feels really anxious,’ for example. “Oftentimes adults will mislabel a feeling for a child,” says Dr. What they found was that the better children were at identifying and labelling different emotions, then the fewer anxiety symptoms they exhibited.īottom line: Learning how to identify and express feelings in a positive way helps kids to develop the skills they need to manage them effectively. In 2010, researchers conducted a review of 19 different research studies with child participants ranging from 2 to 18 years old. “There are so many changes going on-so many children are feeling so many different types of emotion, so it's really important to have children identify how they’re feeling, especially if being at home or being on Zoom calls makes them feel tired or angry or frustrated or bored.” And here’s another reason why a feelings chart could be especially helpful, given the current situation: Learning how to identify feelings can also help with anxiety. This ability to identify your emotions is especially important now, says Dr. On the flip side, the frustration that comes with the inability to communicate emotions can lead out outbursts and meltdowns. That’s because kids who learn how to identify and express their feelings appropriately are more likely to be empathetic towards others, develop fewer behavioral problems and have a positive self-image and good mental health.

“Kids, on the other hand, can’t understand those more complex emotions.” And being able to identify emotions is super important-like a major life skill, important. (In other words, you know that when you’ve been on hold with your insurance provider for 45 minutes that you’re feeling frustrated and annoyed). “Feelings charts are wonderful because as adults we know the difference between complex emotions,” explains Dr.