Comments on: Acknowledging Children’s Feelings

By: Fran Magbual

Fran Magbual — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:21:48 +0000

Great follow-up to your “Dealing with children’s feelings” post. I like your examples and will try to be more aware of how I respond to my kids and yes, as Tammy mentions, with adults as well!

By: Dionna

Dionna — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:17:48 +0000

Tammy – I don’t think it’s silly at all. I think it’s a good point – we are trying to treat children like people, so much of what we do should apply across the board!

Amber – I agree. With every age there is a point where it’s healthier for the adult to be more involved in solving the problem.

Lauren & AFMom – I don’t think toddlers are too young. It’s ideal to have conversations with your child about all kinds of things, why not identifying emotions? And even if they aren’t verbal yet, they are still learning words/concepts, as evidenced by the many babies/toddlers who sign.

By: AFWife

AFWife — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:56:58 +0000

I wonder if my toddler is too young for this…I have been trying to acknowledge his feelings but he just can’t quite communicate yet.

By: Lauren @ Hobo Mama

Lauren @ Hobo Mama — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:10:49 +0000

I love these examples, and I do need a reminder to be empathetic. I agree with Amber that the problem-solving aspect is maybe more practical once your kid’s a little older — and I totally agree with Tammy that I’m going to use this on adults! :)

I know Mikko (2.75 years old) is really interested in emotions right now, but he’s still not perfect at reading them. If someone’s mouth is open in a picture, for instance, he assumes they’re crying, even if they’re laughing or yawning. I try to point out what different emotions are as he works through all that, since he seems interested. I can see how mirroring back his own emotions would be equally helpful.

By: Amber

Amber — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:43:12 +0000

I do respond to my 5-year-old with empathy, and I am trying to empower her to solve her own problems. For me the issue has just been waiting for her to get to a place where she can actually do that. I would say that she’s about 50/50 right now. For a long time I did end up solving problems, because when your 2-year-old is at a loss you sort of have to. You can model resiliency and all that, but they just don’t always have the tools needed to actually BE resilient at that age.

By: TammyM

TammyM — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:51:27 +0000

So is it pathetic that my first thought was that I could apply these same principles to how I relate with adults?