Encourage Your Child to Embrace All Emotions

As parents, it’s hard to see your child experience pain. It’s only natural to want to help them feel better immediately. But it’s important to remember that there are psychological benefits in accepting negative emotions and thoughts. According to a UC-Berkeley study, embracing negative feelings will help an individual feel better in the long run. This is an important reminder for parents like you when guiding your child when they are faced with negative emotions.

So what are the exact reasons why it’s important to teach your child to embrace all kinds of emotions–not just the positive ones?

It reduces anxiety

Intense emotions can be scary, but helping your child accept them and make space for them allows your child to learn how to healthily accept different kinds of feelings besides happiness. This will help them subdue their anxiety and stress levels.

It improves emotional intelligence

In order for your child to cope with different emotions, they have to first identify what they are feeling. By teaching them to fully embrace their feelings, you will help them familiarize themselves with despair, happiness, turmoil, and the like. Through helping your child understand what they are feeling, you equip them with the tools to handle a wide array of emotions–making them emotionally intelligent. This will help them protect themselves from unhealthy behavior because they are aware of what they are feeling and what they should do about it.

It will improve your child’s mental health

Helping your child work through negative emotions will be beneficial for their mental health. If your child learns how to express themselves and process their emotions, they will likely develop healthy coping mechanisms to negative events that happen in their life.

It will also improve their physical health

When unresolved negative emotions pile up, they manifest physically. Symptoms such as headache, stomach aches, and nausea can be experienced. This is why it’s important to teach your child to embrace all kinds of emotions even negative ones. When they are able to face their fears or anxieties, they will lessen the possibility of having a sickly body.  

By being there for your child when they face negative experiences, you will help them learn how to healthily cope with different kinds of emotions. This will contribute to a healthy mind and body–a definite concern for parents like you.

Interested to know more about parenting and how you can help your child manage their school life? Visit Edukasyon.ph’s Parent Portal now!