[Kierra Jenkins]

You can teach children to identify emotions and handle their upset feelings in a number of ways. Some of my favorite and what I have found to be helpful are:

using a feeling chart like an emotional thermometer. When the child is calm, start teaching how emotions often grow in intensity from happy to frustrated to angry. When they are upset, use the feeling chart to identify the emotion. “You seem frustrated –like the picture in our feelings chart.”

Another way to identify emotions is to do a “body check.” When you notice signs of frustration, label it for the child and explain how you know: “Your shoulders are hunched and your fists are clenched, so I can see you’re frustrated right now.” Over time, the child will learn to identify these signs of frustration without your cues.