What do you mean by identifying emotions for kids?
All the living and breathing creatures on earth have emotions. But sometimes, expressing these emotions becomes a little overwhelming as we don't know how to put our feelings into words. Learning to identify feelings is a skill that we can acquire. All we need is awareness of our feelings. Identifying emotions for kids helps them build their emotional intelligence from an early age to raise them as practical and better understanding individuals.
Even if kids don't know how to name their emotions at a young age, they feel them just like we do. When they are made self-aware of their feelings with the help of various activities, it will get easier to identify emotions for kids, and they will express themselves more clearly.
Why is identifying emotions for kids important?
We might feel that dealing with emotions is just an adult business, but studies show that identifying emotions for kids is essential. This helps them to know their feelings in a better way to manage their problems and do well in their lives.
Let's check out why learning the skills of identifying emotions is necessary for kids:
- It helps in kids' emotional growth.
- It gives them better control of their feelings.
- Helps identify their problems and find effective solutions.
- Induce happy and healthy behaviour in kids.
- Discard negative thoughts.
- Build good relationships with people in the future.
- Lead a successful life.
Identifying emotions for kids is vital for their happy and healthy lifestyle. It is important to teach them how to control their emotions. Suppose a child is not aware of how and what they are feeling. The thought will keep bothering them and impact their behaviour in the longer run. This is why raising emotional intelligence in kids is extremely necessary.
PlanetSpark provides online training for identifying emotions in kids with various activities and innovative teaching. So, what are you waiting for! Get your kid enrolled NOW!
How to help your kid identify emotions?
Kids are not as expressive as adults in terms of identifying their feelings. However, they try to imitate their feelings by observing the adults around them. Yet we can't expect the kids to learn to identify their emotions naturally.
The kids need to realise that they have complete control over their emotions so that they don't feel overwhelmed by their feelings and emotions. Learning to identify emotions is a skill that kids must acquire early in life to manage their problems healthily.
Let's check out various ways to help your kid identify emotions:
Give a name to their feelings.
The first step toward identifying emotions for kids is giving a name to their feelings. Observe them closely and whenever you see them reacting in a certain way, let them know that they are feeling certain emotions. Like in various situations, kids might feel angry, happy, sad, or frustrated. You can also give them situations and ask them how they would feel in a certain situation.
For example, "How would you feel if I offered you chocolate right now?" - "Happy" "How do you feel when I leave for the office early?" - "sad", etc. Please start with the basic types of emotions for kids before exposing them to the broader spectrum.
Identify the body language and expressions.
You can develop your child to learn the skill of identifying emotions by pointing out their body language and expressions defining a specific type of mood. For instance, when you offer them the food they detest, make your kid observe their reaction upon seeing or tasting the food. And tell them what it is aligned to. It can be hate, disgust, or frustration. Give a name to their expressions to help them understand what they are feeling.
Talk about your feelings to help kids identify their emotions.
Another helpful way of identifying emotions for kids is to talk about your feelings with them. Tell them how certain things made you happy or sad. Try explaining your daily events which affected you in any way. Talking about real-life scenarios will give them a deeper understanding of the complexity of situations and open their eye to a broad range of emotions and feelings.
Use games and charts.
Games and charts are the best ways to help kids identify their feelings. These charts would provide a visual for the kids to help them understand in a simple and fun way. You can either draw simple faces depicting a range of emotions or use emojis to describe the various types of emotions. You can also give them multiple situations to bring out their feelings and help them identify.
Refrain insults and punishments.
Please note that patience is extremely important while teaching the kids. If they are committing mistakes, improvise them happily. Don't teach them with high expectations in the very beginning. They will gradually understand everything. If the children are discouraged repeatedly, it might adversely affect their learning and mental health.
Provide your kids with a comfortable space to practice.
For a child's overall learning and growth, it is necessary to nurture them in a creative and comfortable space where they can speak fearlessly. So, please provide them with a favourable environment to encourage their growth.
Give professional training to your child to help them identify their emotions, among many other benefits of PlanetSpark online courses. Start the course NOW!
Here is everything you must know about identifying emotions for kids.
Identifying emotions for kids is necessary to help their overall growth and development. If kids are being made aware of their feelings and how to handle them, it will give them better control over themselves, and they will find effective solutions to their problems.
Kids might not name every emotion, but that doesn't mean they are not feeling them. Helping them identify their feelings will increase their ability to think clearly and resolve their issues effectively.
General awareness about emotions:
Emotions are transient: Emotions last only for a while. The duration depends upon the intensity of our feelings, but one thing is for sure what we might be feeling for a moment is not our permanent state of mind. For example, if someone has projected negative feelings toward us, we will feel upset for a while, but eventually, we get over it. So, young kids need to realise that all emotions are temporary.
Emotions are not always intense: We don't feel intense emotions all the time. Let us understand this with examples:
Imagine how you would feel if someone offered you chocolate? The most likely answer would be "Happy". But depending on various situations, the intensity of your happiness might change.
Situation 1: A random stranger offers you chocolate on your way home.
In this case, you will feel happy, but you will also be confused about whether to eat it or not. So, you will not be as excited.
Situation 2: A friend offers you your favourite chocolate on your way home.
You will feel more tempted to eat it, and you'll probably feel happy too.
Situation 3: You met someone dear to you on your way home, and they offered you your favourite chocolate.
This is the situation where you'll be the happiest.
So, the intensity of your emotions depends upon people and situations.
A strong sense of self can control emotions: We all feel overwhelmed by our emotions on many occasions. Sometimes it is okay to feel emotions strongly as they are an essential part of our lives. But if we let them overpower us, they can affect our mental health adversely. So, it is necessary to learn the skill of identifying emotions for kids to raise their self-awareness. They will not get easily swayed by their feelings with a strong sense of self.
Identifying emotions for kids is essential to understanding themselves in a better way. To build emotional intelligence in kids, give them the best training online from PlanetSpark.
Book a demo session now!
What are the different types of emotions?
Emotions are experienced by all of us irrespective of our race and culture. People observe certain types of feelings throughout the world when they face relevant situations. Identifying emotions for kids is important to help them understand themselves in a better way and understand other people. When we learn the skill of identifying emotions, it helps us understand how people (including ourselves) react to particular situations in a specific way. This knowledge helps us respond to such scenarios effectively without getting overwhelmed by emotions.
So, let's understand the types of basic emotions for kids:
1. Happiness
Happiness is probably the easiest to recognise while identifying your feelings. We have no stress, workload, or adult issues to deal with in our childhood years. So, the most prominent emotion we experience is happiness. Happiness is a state in which we feel joyful and content. The pleasantness we experience when we are happy is the most popular and favourite in the list of emotions and feelings. People sought happiness all their lives to feel content and enjoy well-being. Let's look at some attributes of an individual when happy:
- When a person is happy, you will see a smile on their face.
- Even if the person is not smiling all the time, their facial expressions would be relaxed and calm.
- You will notice positive behaviour and an upbeat note in their speaking.
2. Sadness
People dislike sadness. This emotion is the opposite of happiness. Unhappiness is often caused when people don't get what they want or are disappointed with something. There are many causes for sadness. Although, while identifying emotions for kids, they must understand that it is a transient emotion, and thus, even if they feel upset about something in the moment, that feeling is not going to stay forever. When children have control over their feelings and emotions, they will resolve their conflicts effectively or avoid entering conflicting situations. Now let's understand some attributes of an individual when sad:
- When a person is sad, they feel upset and tend to cry.
- They don't feel like meeting anyone and get socially detached.
- Prolonged sadness might lead to depression.
- Sad people don't feel like sharing their thoughts, and thus, they remain mostly quiet. At such times, it's essential to give them a comfortable space to express themselves.
3. Anger
From the list of emotions and feelings, anger is an extreme emotion that, if not checked, can lead to disastrous results for oneself and others. Anger is a feeling of hostility towards a person who has wronged us somehow. This feeling can also arise if the opinions of someone don't match our own. Anger can lead to positive growth only if controlled at an early stage. Let us check the attributes of an angry person:
- Their facial expressions are not relaxed, and you can see a frown developing on their face.
- Their body language is stiff and rigid.
- When a person is angry, they speak loudly or yells at another person.
- Other attributes like sweating, and turning hot and red are also seen when someone is angry.
4. Disgust
People feel disgusted when they see, hear, smell, or taste something they detest. Consider the example of you unknowingly eating something that you hate. The effect produced on you by the food is the feeling of disgust. The attributes of a disgusted person would be:
- They feel like vomiting so they would hurl.
- The facial muscles will seem tense.
5. Fear
Fear is also an important feeling, and identifying it can help raise emotional intelligence in kids. When we face a fearful situation, our mind prompts us to either run away or face the problem and fight. Identifying your feelings like fear at specific events or situations help you prepare to face such situations and respond to them effectively. Here are some attributes of fear:
- The muscles of your body get tense when you face a fearful problem.
- You may experience heavy breathing as your heart rate increases.
6. Surprise
Surprise has the shortest span among the rest in the list of emotions and feelings. Sometimes, facing a situation when something unexpected happens, we get surprised. But we recover from it quickly. The attributes of a surprised individual would be:
- The wide opening of the eyes.
- Raising eyebrows and opening mouth wide in shock.
- Screaming or yelling.
So, these were the types of basic emotions for kids. To develop the skill of identifying feelings and emotions for kids, Book a Free Trial Class at PlanetSpark NOW!
Frequently Asked Questions about identifying emotions for kids.
1. How do you teach children to identify their emotions?
Identifying emotions for kids can be made easier with the help of activities and worksheets. You can use different posters or drawings of faces or emojis expressing various types of feelings to help small kids understand the types of basic emotions. Get your kid enrolled now at PlanetSpark for professional online training to identify kids' emotions.
2. How can we identify emotions?
Observe how you behave in certain types of situations. Note your physiological and psychological behaviour upon feeling certain kinds of emotions. It will help you identify your feelings and prepare you to respond effectively the next time you face those situations. You can even journal your feelings based on the effects they produce on you. It will help you manage and control them in a better way.
3. Why is it important to identify emotions?
Identifying emotions for kids is as crucial as it is for adults.
- It helps manage and control your feelings to not feel overwhelmed.
- Develops problem-solving skills to resolve any conflict.
- To help others in difficult situations.
- Identifying emotions for kids is also a way to understand themselves better for their positive growth.
4. Why do I have trouble identifying emotions?
Sometimes, people fail to express their emotions or even identify them because of emotional detachment. This situation is known as Alexithymia. Although it is not a disorder yet, it adversely affects a person's mental health. Identifying the emotions for kids and adults is equally necessary for their growth and well-being. So, anyone who cannot express or identify their emotions should seek a therapist for diagnosis and treatment.
5. How can we identify and manage emotions?
Sharing your thoughts with people who understand you might be the best way of identifying your feelings. If an incident has affected you strongly, talk about it with your friends or family members. Journaling is also a good way to introspect and track one's emotions. Another way could be to observe your feelings closely and label them. This will help you manage your feelings, give you better control over them, and help you prepare to respond the next time effectively.
6. What is PlanetSpark, and what do they do?
PlanetSpark is an online learning platform for kids. We use powerful technology and innovative teaching methods to teach our kids and make their learning journey easy and exciting. We focus on fluency development, enhancing creative writing and spoken English skills, and many new-age skills like vlogging, debating, public speaking, etc. PlanetSpark provides many courses with comprehensive curricula to support overall growth. To know more about the courses at PlanetSpark, Book a Demo Session NOW!
