Emotion Coaching

Parenting toddlers and preschoolers can be rewarding and challenging. CDC's essential science-backed parenting strategies can help you guide your little ones through their big feelings and behaviors. Let's talk about emotion coaching. Emotion coaching means noticing and naming emotions together with your child. It helps kids learn to recognize, understand, and manage their emotions in healthy ways by guiding them through their feelings with patience and support. Emotion coaching is especially helpful for toddlers and preschoolers because they're still learning about their feelings and they often can't express those feelings in words yet. Emotion coaching involves five steps. Notice, connect, listen, name, and find solutions together. First, notice your child's expressions and behavior. Notice your own feelings too. If your child is expressing a less intense emotion and you're feeling calm, this might be a good time for emotion coaching. If your child is having a tantrum, it is not a good time to try emotion coaching. Instead, stay close by and offer them time to calm down. Next, connect with your child. This can be as simple as a hug or making meaningful eye contact with a smile. Listen to your child with empathy. Remain calm and avoid criticizing or judging their emotions. And remember, they may be using their behavior to communicate with you. Getting down at their level and maintaining eye contact can help them know you're listening. Name the emotion you observe in simple terms they will understand. They may even repeat it back to you. This helps your child learn to use words to describe what they feel. Let your child know you accept their emotions. Oh no, are you feeling sad about your sandcastle? It's okay to feel sad about that. I would feel sad too. Finally, guide your child to find a good solution together. What can we do now? Want to try rebuilding it together? This is also where you can set limits on misbehavior if needed. For example, if your child threw sand while they were upset, you could tell them feeling sad is okay, but throwing sand is not okay. Oh, I see you're frustrated. Climbing that slide can be hard. Let's try it together. Emotion coaching helps kids feel supported as they navigate their emotions. It strengthens your bond with them and helps them gain confidence in their ability to identify and manage their emotions too. With a few parenting essentials, you can build a strong connection with your child and build a supportive foundation for their growth. Learn more essentials for parenting toddlers and preschoolers at cdc.gov slash parents slash essentials.