Let's Play the Emotions Game

Feelings and emotions are tricky for kids (and adults). They can be overwhelming and challenging to understand, but there is a solution! Games are a great way to help kids become aware of how to label their emotions and bring attention to how those emotions make their body feel.

Kids who understand their emotions are less likely to throw a temper tantrum, become aggressive or close off in order to express themselves. When a child is able to explain they are hurt, they are now better equipped to resolve conflict peacefully.

Here are some options you can try when trying to improve your child's emotional literacy.

Version 1: How would you feel if....

Grab a pencil and piece of paper for some brainstorming fun! Gather your little one(s) around and think of some common scenarios that may spark different feelings. Here are some examples:

• “Grandma (or Grandpa) picked you up after school and took you to get ice cream.”

• “Your classmate pushed you during recess.”

• “Your brother/sister wouldn’t let you have a turn on the swings.”

Write down each scenario, cut them up, put them in a bowl and pass them around as you play some fun music (like musical chairs). When you stop the music, the person holding the bowl should pick out one of the scenarios and read it out (or have a grown up read them out if your child can't reach yet). Now ask the person/child to talk about how they would feel if the scenario happened to them.

Version 2: Picture Picture

Delve into emotions using pictures! What better way to learn about emotions that looking at faces?

Draw (or print out) multiple faces showing different emotions (happy, sad, angry, confused). Take turns with your child and select a face. Without naming the emotion, use words that describe the physical sensations someone might feel (ex/ butterflies in the tummy - fear) or words that might describe how the face looks (ex/ the eyebrows are raised high - surprise).

For younger children, ask your child to describe a scenario where they felt the emotion on the face they selected (ex/ Happy face - "I felt happy when I hugged my sister") or you can try Emotion Bingo.

Create a Bingo card (you can select the size of the card) with faces that represent different feelings (happy, excited, angry). Instead of numbers and letters, have your child pull the different emotions from a bag and match it to the emotion on the Bingo card.

Happy games night!

#emotions #mindfulness #satuppada #kids #mindfulgames