Thereās a reason lots of good parents say to babies stuff like
āYouāre excited to go to the park!ā
āOh, it makes you mad that we canāt go outside.ā
And then when the babies get a little bit older the parents can say
āYou seem upset. Are you sad?ā
āAre you excited that gramma is coming over today?ā
Which lets the kid (who is learning to utilize speech) respond with yes or no, which may prompt more questions, like
āSo you arenāt sad, are you angry?ā
āYes, does it make you happy when gramma is here?ā
And then, finally, when the child is learning to use language in a more complex way, the parents can say,
āHow does it make you feel?ā
āWhy are you feeling like that?ā
And itās all about teaching emotional awareness. I really reccomend using the process on yourself. Learn to ask, āam I happy?ā āAm I sad?ā āAm I anxious?ā
Then practice identifying, out loud or on paper if you can, āIām happy.ā āIām upset.ā āIām sad.ā āIām anxious.ā
Final step: āWhy am I feeling anxious? Iām still thinking about that awkward conversation earlier.ā āWhy am I happy? Itās such a beautiful day outside.ā āWhy am I sad? None of my friends are responding to my messages.ā
It really helps you notice patterns (āIām more likely to be happy when Iām around this person.ā āWhen I havenāt eaten, I often feel angry.ā āIf I donāt plan ahead, I get anxious.ā) which is the first step in avoiding things and people that are bad for you and encouraging things and people that are good.
kianamaiart
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areudirty
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
