This is so true and so important – bottling up our emotions will not make them go away. At some point they will explode out of us, and they will be overwhelming. Deal with each emotion as it happens, and it will feel much more manageable.
Much of our work is helping children to recognise emotions that they are feeling. What is the emotion? How do they feel in their body? What is making them feel this way? What do they do at the moment when they feel this emotion? Could they do anything differently?
We want to help the children let their emotions out and not bottle them up, but we want them to learn to do this in a way that helps them and, at the same time, does not upset or hurt others around them.
Many children think they are angry, but if they are supported well by adults around them, they will be able to work out what the emotion was that came before anger: frustration, embarrassment, disappointment, upset. Children can then learn to recognise these emotions and can use strategies to help them manage these feelings. Most children that we support, want to have someone to talk to – never underestimate how important it is to listen to children but remember they do not always know how to start a conversation, so they need those around them to notice.
We are always trying to avoid:
Reach Behaviour 