There are many things that you can use and do at home to encourage and support your child in managing their emotions. Not all of the suggested activities will be appropriate for all children and you can speak with your child's class teacher to determine suitable activities.
- Encourage your child to identify how they are feeling (don’t stick to happy and sad, use a middle ‘okay’). You can use Sock puppets to act out different scenarios/ emotion or symbols/photographs of different emotions. You can also encourage them to be aware of others emotions, for example, noticing characters in TV programs and books feeling excited/ cross/ worried.
- Keep a routine in place to help structure the day and make it predictable. Sometimes routines will change and this is okay as it will encourage flexibility. Some children will need preparing for this change through visuals.
- Find calming activities or activities that your child really engages with to offer them when they are upset, angry, anxious etc.
Please speak to your child's class teacher about support with individual behaviours. They will be able to send you resources to support, individual social stories, activities and symbols etc.