Connecting children with their emotions has many benefits.  By doing so they: are better communicators, have an improved ability to learn and make decisions, develop empathy and better friendships, and able to better regulate their emotions and to calm down.

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Maria shares that to help children connect with their emotions, we must do the same.  So how do we do that?  We first must stop, take a deep breath, take note what is going on with your body, and name that emotion.

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Stopping allows us to respond instead of react.  Pausing activates the part of the brain that helps us make thoughtful decisions.

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Taking a deep breath helps lower stress hormones and heart rate, activating the vagus nerve, which helps regulate our nervous system.

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Taking note of what is going on with your body, we notice sensations, and become more aware of our emotions before they take over and preventing them from becoming too intense.  Naming those emotions reduces activity in the amygdala, the brain’s fear center thereby reducing its intensity.

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Maria then takes participants through an exercise that helps them identify and name children's emotions using an Emotions Chart (available in the Featured Resources section).  You can now take your children through the same steps you did above to connect with your emotions.