7 Uncomfortable Emotions That Children Should Know How To Manage

You cannot stay out of uncomfortable emotions. Adults cannot do it, and neither can children. Even if we wanted to put them in a bubble so that they would not suffer, this would be completely counterproductive.

However, many parents are determined to prevent their children from experiencing these uncomfortable emotions. But this is not good in the long run. At some point, children will have to deal with these situations, pain and frustration. Rescuing them will only make their adult life more difficult.

Helping Children Cope With Uncomfortable Emotions

Although it is not an easy task, teaching children to deal with pain, anger or rage, among other emotions, will prepare them for life. These uncomfortable emotions will become more and more intense, so learning to deal with them from a young age will facilitate their adaptation and maturation process. 

Teach children to deal with boredom

Boredom is something that can assail us all. However, children are very prone to feeling bored and demanding attention. But just because a child is bored does not mean that an adult has to solve his problems. What’s more, it’s good for children to get bored from time to time.

Boredom stimulates children’s innate ability to be creative. That is why the child must be encouraged to find a way to use his time and not offer him constant entertainment.

Teach children to deal with frustration

Wanting to help a child when he is frustrated is a natural reaction, but children need to know how to deal with that frustration effectively. There is not always going to be someone there to do it, so they have to learn to cope with a frustrating situation.

In these cases, you have to talk to the child, help him calm down, and encourage him to find a solution. This way you will learn that to resolve a frustrating situation it is necessary to calm down first. 

If a child does not have opportunities to solve their problems on their own, they may develop a feeling of learned helplessness. That is, you will grow convinced that you need others to solve their problems for them.

Disappointment often appears in children for many reasons, most of them uncontrollable. It may be that your favorite team has lost a game, that you cannot find your favorite candy, that your friend is in a different group, or that your father or mother does not arrive in time to play with him before dinner.

Whatever the reason, disappointment is an emotion that we experience throughout our lives and that we must learn to manage. Otherwise, we would live in a constant sense of the end of the world.

Teaching children to deal with anger

Anger is not a bad emotion. The bad is what we decide to do when it arises. Children need to learn healthy ways to deal with anger and angry feelings, that aggressiveness is neither necessary nor healthy.

When a child is angry it is necessary to teach him how to calm his body by taking deep breaths and waiting. Counting to six is ​​a formula that works with both children and adults and allows you to stand back and control the situation.

Teaching children to deal with guilt

A child cannot always be allowed to be blameless with excuses . Children must learn to recognize that their behavior affects others and that an apology does not end it.  It is not about shaming them, but about fostering healthy guilt that can lead to constructive change.