Children learn to identify two major emotions, ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ at an early age.
It is important they move on from putting everything into these two groups.
As part of getting ready for school we talk a lot about other people’s feelings, and how our actions make others feel, why is this important?
When adults provide support and explanations, it helps children understand what they can do to manage their feelings. Children who learn how to understand emotions in themselves and others are better able to regulate their own responses to strong emotions.
We help by reading stories to children about emotions and assisting them to identify the emotions the characters in the story display. encouraging children to talk about their feelings and the feelings of others. We also use paddle faces to draw how we feel and a range of other activities to support children’s learning.
The more the children learn about emotions the more they understand that someone might feel scared, rather than sad, this will help them learn how o respond appropriately.
