Hope Ninja Parents Podcast EP5: Helping Kids Deal with Big Emotions

If you ask any parent about big emotions, they will know exactly what you mean.

When we talk about kids’ big emotions, it’s generally the challenging ones, rather than the big joys.

Here we discuss why kids have big emotions, both the psychological and physiological reasons. 

Gheorg founder and psychologist Dr Louise Metcalf speaks with Gheorg’s Schools Program Manager and Mindset Coach, Cynthia Painter, about supporting your child to develop emotional regulation skills.

Listen to the episode to learn about the purpose of big emotions, and how to teach kids to manage them in a purposeful way.

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro: Big emotions, and how to help both ourselves and our kids with them at the same time

01:32 Navigating our world: the role of the brain’s prefrontal cortex in children's emotions vs. adult's emotions

05:00 The stages of emotional development from birth, and how each can affect big emotions

10:34 How we can help our kids have a positive & healthy relationship with their emotions

11:54 What kids emotions are trying to to tells us, and how we can better understand them

13:48 How adult’s behaviour can trigger kid’s big emotions, and leading with empathy before logic

15:20 Being an imperfect parent is better for your child’s development, and the importance of self-compassion

17:26 Why managing our own emotions will support our kids big emotions

19:32 Tips to ground ourselves emotions during stressful moments,

21:34 Discovering what helps your child to regulate emotions, and how to teach them to practise these skills

22:42 Discussing emotional regulation strategies with your child

25:05 Developing children’s language and vocabulary to describe their emotions, and tools you can use to support this

28:04 Teaching kids to locate emotions in their body, notice the sensations, and to recognise these same cues in others

28:58 The importance of having hope, and how it can help us to develop emotional regulation skills

31:30 The crucial mental and physiological mechanics behind fear, and why facing it creates positive outcomes

32:03 Dealing with guilt and shame as adults, and what their purpose is in our life

32:51 How to reframe challenging times through a hopeful mindset, and grow through processing difficult emotions

34:16 Key takeaways: Regulate yourself first and work out what works for you - as the beautiful, imperfect parent that you are