Regardless of age, kids experience significant emotional swings and shifts during any given day. Because they are learning and growing at a rapid pace, they are exposed to new and challenging information daily. Helping calm your kids when they are experiencing an overload of stimulus — even if it seems small to you — is crucial to teaching them how to self-regulate their emotions. This critical skill will affect not only how they perform in future academic settings, but in life as well. If you’re considering after school programs McKinney TX for your child, make sure your child has the necessary cognitive and emotional tools to cope and avoid meltdowns or tantrums. Below are 5 simple techniques to teach your kiddo self-management skills.
Cognitive Tools for Children in After School Programs McKinney TX
Talk about feelings
Simply talking about your emotions with your child — especially at an early age — can help them identify with those feelings in themselves and feel comfortable talking about them as a result. It’s fine to use words to describe your feelings that your child might not understand. When your child hears you articulate when you are excited, proud, disappointed or frustrated, it helps them learn how to connect words and feelings. Ideally, your child should be able to describe their feelings beyond the simple emotions of “sad”, “mad”, or “happy.”
Encourage them to ask for help
One of the key tenets of self-awareness is having an understanding and acceptance of personal boundaries and limitations. Asking for help when faced with personal limits or challenges is intrinsic to healthy social interaction and self-management, and will help them in social situations when you aren’t around, like during after school programs McKinney TX. Experts recommend that when you see your child struggling with a difficulty, communicate that you are there to help them, but wait until they actually vocalize the ask before jumping in to assist. A large part of learning this lesson is in the struggle and the resulting request for assistance.
Teach them the art and skill of apologizing
Even adults struggle with this on a regular basis, and it may have to do with whether or not they were taught the power and importance of a sincere apology. Teaching your kids at an early age that apologizing is a sign of grace, not submission or manipulation, will help the skill to come easier and more readily for them in life, as well as be used regularly. Individuals who find it easy to apologize typically have greater emotional intelligence and are more likely to find themselves in positions of leadership and respect.