It is important to understand that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ emotions. Each emotion felt is equally important for the child’s development. Unlike adults who have experienced various scenarios throughout their life, and have learned to deal with their feelings, children simply have not been presented with the number of experiences needed to create their own ‘database’ of emotional references. Without these references, forming emotional solutions and conclusions becomes difficult.
Children need to know that emotions are healthy and we all experience them. A child has the right to feel angry when another child breaks their castle of blocks that took them hours to build; the right to be afraid when they go to the dentist; the right to feel frustrated when something goes wrong and they don’t have answers.
