Sadness, anger, and anxiety are emotions that we all feel but for children however, they can be more difficult to deal with. They may not fully understand what they’re feeling and why they feel the way that they do. This is known as emotional intelligence and is something that you can work on by exploring the different emotions. You can also encourage them to look inward and consider how they themselves feel. Once they are able to recognise these, you can introduce them to the concept of mindfulness. It’s a way to manage overwhelming emotions by focusing on the present moment. Below are some methods from an independent school in Milton Keynes that you can use to help your child.
Breathing Techniques
Most mindfulness techniques look at breathing. It is because when we’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, we can feel tight chested and have trouble. There are various techniques that can help and one exercise that you can do with your child involves breathing in and out to a count of three.
Senses
At the same time, you can explore the five senses – touch, taste, hear, sight and smell. These will help them to focus on the present and become less concerned with what’s worrying them.
Counting Candles
Another method involves using a little imagination and works for children that are younger. They will need to use their hands and pretend that they are candles. Each of them will need to be blown out until extinguished and they feel better within themselves.
It is worth noting that these techniques may not work for all children. It’s also likely that it will take some time before they are able to see results. They will need to practise the methods discussed regularly, at least a few times a week when both anxious and feeling calm to see the benefit.