Some children can easily recognise and relate to the feelings of others. For some, this can be really challenging. Even if it’s not a natural strength for your child, there is a lot you can do to coach this skill. Weave into your conversations opportunities to reflect on your child’s and other people’s feelings, including your own. What happened? How might they be feeling? Has there been a time you felt the same way?
Help your child to grasp the difference between doing something deliberately and accidentally. There are usually layers of reasons when someone does something hurtful and the victim doesn’t necessarily need to take it personally. Understanding the other person’s point of view, and how it motivates their behaviour, is a social skill that will be a huge advantage to your child. (Source: Parenting Place “Hot Tips”)
In my resources page I have included some printable pages that list feelings and needs from Marshall Rosenburg and “Non-violent Communication”. These can be a great resource to develop the language of feelings and foster “emotional literacy”.