Talking to Children About Big Emotions

Children often feel big emotions before they have the words to describe them. Helping a child name what they feel — "it sounds like you are frustrated" — is often the first step toward helping them manage it.

Try to respond to big feelings with curiosity rather than correction. Ask what happened, listen fully, and resist the urge to immediately fix or minimise the feeling. Over time, this builds a child's vocabulary for their own inner world, and their trust that emotions are safe to share.