We always enjoy the clinical insights that come our way from the Family Institute at Northwestern University. Check out the article and link below, "Supporting Children in Distress", for suggestions on how to help our kids manage their emotions in healthy ways.
The Family Institute at Northwestern University
Clinical Science Insights | May 2017
Supporting Children in Distress: The Power of Parental Emotion Coaching
- By Allen Sabey, PhD, Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow
Clinical Science Insights allows TFI's clinical and research staff members to share their expert knowledge on a variety of topics facing families today, from child development and innovative treatments for depression and anxiety, to best parenting practices and the latest research on what works in couples therapy, and many more.
Imagine the following scenarios:
A 3-year-old girl begins yelling in a grocery store because her mother said she cannot have the cereal she wants. An 8-year-old boy comes home from school crying about how a friend said he did not want to be the boy's friend anymore. A 14-year-old girl's grandmother just passed away and she hasn't come out of her room for three days. A 16-year-old boy argues with his parents about not letting him stay out later with his friends.
These types of emotional moments in children's lives shape their ongoing development and future well-being. More specifically, it is in the accumulation of these moments that children learn about their emotions and how to deal with them (Sroufe, 2000). What children learn from these experiences will either support constructive ways of dealing with their emotions, or hinder their ability to manage their emotions in healthy ways. The experiences children have in this regard are largely influenced by how their parents or caregivers respond to them in such moments of distress (Cunningham, Kliewer, & Garner, 2009).
Read the entire Clinical Science Insights article here.