All About BIG Emotions
Written by: Jane Straub, Training Director
Made possible by: Northmarq
Dear parents and caregivers,
Fall in Minnesota brings many activities and emotions for our children; back to school, after-school activities, athletics, music, faith-based activities, just to name a few. All those activities and schedules may bring emotions and stress for children, adolescents, and parents.
Although some stress and anxiety may be manageable for our children, we do want to be on the lookout for times that we notice our little kids with BIG emotions and our big kids with BIG emotions. Children and adolescents do experience stress and may need some support through change, transitions, and new experiences.
Here are some quick tips from CornerHouse that we hope you find helpful:
Routines:
Routines are the equivalent of bumper bowling for our children. They provide safety, stability and boundaries. As schedules get busy, routines provide consistency and predictability, which is so important for children and families.
Listening:
Children need the opportunity to have a trusted adult just listen. Our children spend much of their day listening to adults, take time to make open ended statements/questions such as:
“Tell me all about your day.”
“What was the best part of your day?”
“Tell me about something that made you laugh today.”
“Tell me about something that was difficult today.”
“What are you looking forward to this week?”
“What if anything, are you worried about?”
You may find this type of statement or question provides an opportunity for your child to share more information.
Nature:
So much research proves that nature is healing, relaxing and good for our bodies, minds, and soul. Take advantage of fall to take a family walk, explore the fall colors, rake leaves and jump in the pile, enjoy the night sky or any outside activity that your family loves. We know that winter is coming but autumn is still here!
Sometimes stress and anxiety is too big for our children. Here are some resources if you feel you may need professional mental health services:
Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health: https://macmh.org/
Minnesota Department of Health: https://mn.gov/dhs/people-we-serve/people-with-disabilities/health-care/childrens-mental-health/
National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/Home
Centers for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/index.html
American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/topics/children/mental-health
CornerHouse wants to provide some information and resources to support you as you support your children. Below is a link to an excellent article from Parents newsletter that we think offers some excellent tips and tools.