As children get older, you may start to notice that anger, frustration or sadness start to creep into their previously positive, happy attitude to life. As a parent, it can be gut-wrenching to see your child struggling with negative emotions. But the good news is that there is plenty you can do to help your child find their own positivity and happiness in life. In this article we’ll explore our top tips for helping children manage difficult emotions and stress in a healthy way.
It’s easy to forget that children can become extremely sad or worried about things that adults might take in their stride. Any situation that leads to change or requires a child to adapt can cause anxiety, whether that’s trying a new brand of cereal, or a bigger event such as moving house, getting a new teacher, or managing friendship difficulties.
Whatever the trigger might be, if your child seems to be dwelling on negative thoughts, as a parent it’s normal to feel anxious or concerned about their wellbeing.
It can be very hard to see your child struggling, but there is no such thing as a “bad emotion”. Children experience sadness and stress just as adults do. Realising that life has its ups and downs, and knowing how to cope with the more challenging times, is good practice for nurturing healthy emotional wellbeing later in life.
You can support your children’s mental health by giving them safe and effective ways to overcome difficulties and showing them how to appreciate the amazing things that they have in their life.
As a parent, you are perfectly placed to model healthy ways to manage emotions. If children see you feeling stressed or upset, they learn that it is ok to express their feelings. When you manage conflict or stress in a calm and controlled manner, children will follow your lead in managing their own emotions in a constructive way. Having a great model gives children the confidence to accept and face their own emotions.
Encouraging physical activity is a good way to help your child release trapped emotions. Something as simple as going for a walk together offers you both time to reflect, as well as being a calm time to talk to each other. Taking this as an opportunity to be mindful may start laying the foundations for practicing gratitude.
Reading, or being read to, is one of the best ways to help children understand the world around them. Reading helps to lower stress levels in adults, as well as having a calming effect. The National Literacy Trust found that children who were more engaged with reading had better mental health.
Although reading is beneficial for children’s emotional health in a general sense, books that focus on emotions can also help children understand and model healthy responses to upsetting or stressful events in their lives.
Research conducted by The Literacy Trust revealed that customised children’s books help to ensure children are motivated, interested and engaged in reading.
In a personalised book, your child is the centre of attention. This means they can see themselves problem solving and managing their emotions, giving them a strong message about their own emotional capabilities. Whether a story shows them how to be happy, positive or brave, or demonstrates how important it is to be kind or honest, seeing their own character modelling these behaviours can be incredibly powerful.
If your child rarely sees themselves represented in books, a customised book may convince them that they can be unique, proud, and confident in their own abilities. Cherishing individuality and knowing that they are just as valuable as their peers can lead to feelings of security and happiness. Personalised books are therefore a great children’s gift idea.
Positivity can often be found within us, but children may need help to manage difficult feelings. Understanding emotions in childhood can be beneficial for long term emotional wellbeing.
Customised children’s books can effectively demonstrate how to manage feelings and emotions, as well as boosting children’s self-esteem and confidence. Find out more about our range of empowering personalised books here.
