FeelLinks Blog

As parents, caregivers, and teachers, it’s natural to want to shield children from anything that feels scary to them. However, feelings of fear are a normal part of childhood development, and learning to cope with fear is an essential lifeskill - fear is valid and normal to us all.

Children are often seen as resilient - capable of bouncing back after setbacks with ease. However, this perception can lead adults to being dismissive or downplay children's emotions. It's critical to recognize that children experience a wide range of emotions just like adults, and these emotions play a crucial role in their development and well-being.

It can be difficult to decide if, when, and how, to discuss tough topics with our children. What is the best way to approach these tough conversations? As long as your child is ready, it's important for us to support honest and compassionate conversations around tough and complex topics.  

Parents, caretakers, educators, anyone with children in their lives, this is a must read on how to fill and refill the emotional cup of a child. What fills their cup? What empties their cup? How do we teach children to advocate appropriately for an emotional cup refill?

We should all do our best to create a supportive environment where our children are free to verbalize, process, and express all emotions.

We need to listen to our children and avoid constantly swooping in to be the “fixer” or be the “dismisser” (not a real word, but it sounds good).  Here are four things you can do show your child you are present, supportive and attentive!