grief: 6 Articles

Helping Children Manage Big Emotions

Experiencing emotions is a vital part of being human. Emotions give us information, motivate us and prepare us to act, and give others information about how we are feeling. However, emotions can also be difficult to handle, particularly when the intensity of the emotion grows beyond what we can easily manage, as well as when they are more painful emotions like sadness, anxiety, shame, or guilt. When painful emotions become very intense (i.e., become “big” emotions), they tend to lead to impulsive behaviors, hard to control emotional thoughts, and intense physical sensations, such as tight muscles, an upset stomach, or a headache. Learning to manage painful, big emotions and particularly, to catch and soothe those emotions before they get too big, is an important ability for children to develop. Read on for tips on how to teach your child to handle their big emotions.  Name and Normalize Big Emotions We all experience emotions and they are important and helpful - even when they are not easy to experience. Teach your child that we all experience emotions and that they are important and helpful - even when they are not easy to experience. Brainstorm together about the emotions they experience and how they might be helpful. For example, feeling a little nervous before a test motivates them to study. Feeling guilty after saying something unkind reminds them to be more gentle in the future. Crying when they are sad lets an adult know that they might need help or want to talk.  If your child is not sure how to tell the difference between emotions, link emotions to body sensations. For example, anger often shows up as heat in the body while anxiety often causes tight muscles including tense, hunched shoulders and fists or a clenched jaw. The next time your child is experiencing an emotion, gently ask where they are feeling it in their body. This, along with practice noticing and naming emotions, is a foundational step of emotion awareness and regulation. Teach Coping Skills Teach your child a few simple coping skills to soothe their big emotions. It is helpful to match the skill to the intensity of the emotion being experienced as different skills help with different levels of emotional intensity. Kids also often benefit from a visual, such as an emotional thermometer where small (i.e., less intense) emotions are on the bottom part of the thermometer, medium are in the middle, and big are on the top.   A helpful coping skill for when emotions are less intense or “small,” is to practice helpful “self-talk.” This skill can be adapted depending on the situation, but the basic approach is to acknowledge that you are having a tough time and to encourage or coach yourself as you would a friend in the situation. For example, if your child is struggling with homework they might say “this is really hard! At the same time, I’m doing my best and can ask my teacher for help tomorrow.” As another example,

Read More
Helping Children Manage Big Emotions 2021-06-01T23:07:12-04:00

May Is Mental Health Month: Resources for Children’s Mental Health

May is Mental Health Month. Parents and caregivers help support children’s mental health year-round. Our expert authors provide helpful stories on a variety of topics that can bring insight and understanding. Here are eight Magination Press titles related to children’s mental health including books about anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and therapy. Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler's Guide to Understanding Death by Bonnie Zucker, PsyD When a loved one dies, it can be hard to know how to explain it to a young child, particularly if you are grieving the loss yourself.  Sensitively written and gently illustrated, Something Very Sad Happened explains death in developmentally appropriate terms for two- and three-year-old children. It reassures the child that it is okay to feel sad, and that love never dies. A Note to Parents and Caregivers provides more information about how to talk about death, answer your child's questions, and maintain your connection throughout the grieving process. “Essential, powerful, and psychologically researched resource to equip adults to model healthy grieving and help children at this age with loss.” —Booklist A Terrible Thing Happened: A Story for Children Who Have Witnessed Violence or Trauma by Margaret M. Holmes Sherman Smith saw the most terrible thing happen. At first he tried to forget about it, but soon something inside him started to bother him. He felt nervous for no reason. Sometimes his stomach hurt. He had bad dreams. And he started to feel angry and do mean things, which got him in trouble. Then he met Ms. Maple, who helped him talk about the terrible thing that he had tried to forget. Now Sherman is feeling much better. This gently told and tenderly illustrated story is for children who have witnessed any kind of violent or traumatic episode, including physical abuse, school or gang violence, accidents, homicide, suicide, and natural disasters such as floods or fire. An afterword by Sasha J. Mudlaff written for parents and other caregivers offers extensive suggestions for helping traumatized children, including a list of other sources that focus on specific events. Hear A Terrible Thing Happened read aloud. What to Do When Fear Interferes: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Phobias by Claire A. B. Freeland, PhD, and Jacqueline B. Toner, PhD Lots of kids are a little afraid of some things, like heights or spiders. But some kids are so afraid that it stops them from having fun. Does this sound like your child? What to Do When Fear Interferes guides children and their parents through overcoming phobias using strategies and techniques based on cognitive-behavioral principles. This interactive self-help book is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering children to overcome their fears — so they can blast off to new adventures! “The straight forward approach in this book helps children identify their triggers, false beliefs and how to face the fear those beliefs cause.” —Oregon Coast Youth Book Preview Center You Are Your Strong by Danielle Dufayet, PhD Soothing and empowering, You Are Your Strong reassures kids that

Read More
May Is Mental Health Month: Resources for Children’s Mental Health 2021-05-05T21:38:25-04:00

The Gift of Gerbert’s Feathers

Serious illness in a family can cause many emotions like worry, fear, or sadness. Whether a child is experiencing the illness or a loved one is ill, children need the opportunity to talk about their feelings. The Gift of Gerbert's Feathers explores how a family supports young Gerbert, as he experiences a serious illness, and how Gerbert finds a way for his family to remember him when he's gone. Hear the authors read The Gift of Gerbert's Feathers aloud and see three activities related to feathers. Read two posts from the authors about helping siblings cope with grief and helping children with serious illness talk about their feelings. Read the Note to Parents and Caregivers from The Gift of Gerbert's Feathers, the Kids' Reading Guide, and access a feather coloring sheet.

Read More
The Gift of Gerbert’s Feathers 2020-09-10T19:33:30-04:00