Dealing with Strong Emotions

Use the Friend magazine to help your family understand a different sensitive topic each month.

Anger, anxiety, fear—children often need help understanding and dealing with strong emotions. For example, when children express anger, they may actually be feeling afraid or hungry or have some other unmet need. We can help our children understand that difficult feelings are not wrong or bad. While strong feelings are normal, sometimes they also give clues to help us identify problems that we can help children resolve.

You can use stories from this month’s Friend and the May 2017 Friend to help your children understand and deal with some of their difficult emotions.

“Peter the Pest” (Feb. 2018, page 32)

Matthew is angry when his brother Peter breaks his model dinosaur. But Matthew chooses to calm down and apologize to Peter, and their relationship grows stronger. You could use this story to help your children learn how to handle conflict and upset feelings.

“What’s on Your Mind?” (Feb. 2018, page 34)

This page gives specific ideas to help children feel better when they’re feeling angry. The glitter jar (page 35) is also a great way to help your child slow down and relax.

“Ella’s Worries” and “Worried or Afraid?” (May 2017, page 22, 24)

Ella’s worries won’t go away. She talks to her dad, and they take the first step toward helping Ella cope with her worries. Can your kids relate to Ella’s feelings? After reading about Ella, read “Worried or Afraid?” for some tips for handling worries and fears.