Help children learn about feelings

• Label feelings for your young children so that they learn that feelings are something that you can talk about. For
  example you could say “You’re feeling sad because Daddy had to go to work”.
  
  
• Separate feelings from behaviour. For example you might say “I know you feel cross but you must not hit. When you feel
  cross you can tell me”. Your children will not understand all of this at first but it is very important learning.
  
  
• Read stories that show children with different kinds of feelings - angry, happy, sad, afraid etc.
  
  
• Begin to help children understand the difference between their own feelings and other people’s. For example you could say “It hurts Jenny when you hit her, let’s touch her very gently and make her feel better”. It takes many years to learn this well but you can start when your children are very young.