Happy Mental Health Awareness Month! Obviously, mental health is important year-round, but May is a good time for us to check in with our children and ourselves, and to reflect on the important role of psychological wellness in our lives.
Adults and teens may think a healthy psychology develops from a complex balance of maintaining positive relationships, going to therapy, having fulfilling hobbies, finding purpose, and taking care of themselves through sleep and exercise.
In actuality, the foundation for good mental health can start very early and very simply. A recent study published in Child Development suggested that young children who learn how to label their feelings may have better psychological well-being and behavior.
Today, our blog will explore the findings of this article and discuss the importance of helping children develop emotional labeling skills.
Why Is Labeling Emotions Important for Children? What Research Shows
The study examined preschool-aged children (3–6 years old) in China. Children completed performance-based tasks measuring how well they recognized emotions in pictures and stories, as well as their emotional vocabulary. Parents then reported how often the child labeled their feelings daily, and both parents and teachers rated how quickly and appropriately the children recovered when they were emotional.
The study found that children who were better able to recognize and label their emotions were less likely to have negative emotions or emotional lability (i.e., fast swings in emotions), and when they did become upset, they were more able to regulate in a healthy, quick way and move on.
How Does Emotional Labeling Work to Help us Better Control our Emotions?
Based on past research, the authors suggest that “affect labeling regulates emotions by creating a ‘disruption effect’, where verbalizing emotions disrupts the emotional experience, promoting psychological distance from those feelings.” In other words, by making the mental effort to state “I’m sad,” it can pull you out of the internal experience of being sad, even just a little. We’re less overwhelmed by it if we can name it.
Other research has suggested that labeling emotions helps us understand ourselves better and understand how to solve the problem driving the emotion. For instance, if I’m feeling off and realize I’m sad because a friend moved away, I might recognize that a phone call or some company might make me feel better, versus sitting in an emotional discomfort that I don’t entirely understand.
How to Help Kiddos Learn to Talk About Their Feelings
Helping kids learn to observe themselves in this way is powerful, and learning to express themselves even more so. So, how can we intentionally teach children to name their feelings in everyday life?
Model Healthy Responses: I’m sure any parent or caregiver of a young child has had the experience of a kiddo repeating unfortunate words that have come out of your own mouth. What kiddos see, kiddos do. But in the case of emotional labeling, we can use that to our benefit.
We can model emotional labeling and regulation. When we get upset when we can’t find our favorite socks, we can say, “Dad just gets frustrated sometimes when he can’t remember where he put things.” When we get overwhelmed while teaching in the classroom, we can model taking a quick break to take a few deep breaths at our desk. When we feel sad because we didn’t get a job we wanted, we can say, “Hey, I feel a little sad today; let’s go get some ice cream to cheer up.”
The way young kids see you handle things is what they assume is right, so remember that you can be teaching emotional wellness 24/7 if you are intentional.
Prompt Healthy Responses: The next natural step is to remind children when to use these skills that will help them. When we see a youth going through something, it can sometimes be our instinct (and even the correct action) to ignore the behavior or give them some space.
But another option that can sometimes be effective is to prompt them to label their emotions, giving them an opportunity to try to self-regulate in the moment. If a child gets mad that someone takes their toy, before they start yelling or hitting, you might say, “You look upset. How do you feel? Mad? Sad?” Once they’re able to identify and label the feeling, you can prompt emotion regulation strategies, such as telling someone else they upset you or asking for the toy back.
Bottom line: If a child looks like they’re going through something emotionally, they might not always understand it right away. Ask them questions to help them build their vocabulary and toolkit of appropriate responses.
Expressive Activities: Another fun way to help kids learn more about their feelings is artistic activities that encourage self-expression. Engaging in creative tasks, such as drawing, coloring, writing, music, dance, or drama can help kiddos learn to recognize and express their feelings, especially when they are very young and are just becoming familiar with them.
For instance, with music, you might help build feeling vocabulary by asking kiddos to make different sounds on a drum (e.g., “What’s a happy sound? What’s an angry sound?”). Likewise, children may find ways to channel their emotions appropriately through expressive activities (e.g., dancing/movement when they feel frustrated, drawing when they feel sad).
Overall, these kinds of activities can be relatively fun because they don’t always have to be focused on negative affect and can help kiddos learn to appreciate the full range of positive emotions too – joy, excitement, peacefulness, etc.
Summary
Mental health awareness is a lifelong journey that can begin very young with the right support. As we’ve seen here, science shows that kids who know how to identify and express their feelings have broader and healthier options for calming and coping when they become upset. Whether at home, in the classroom, in the clinic, or in the community, adults can help kiddos learn these skills in everyday interactions as simple as labeling their own feelings. When children grow up in environments that encourage rich emotional exploration and expression in this way, it can plant the seeds for positive mental health for many years to come. The little things do add up over time for little humans.
PracticeWise Connect
For more information on helping kids develop emotional vocabulary and regulation, see the PracticeWise On-Demand Learning course on Emotion Identification and information on Expression.
Further Information
The Kids Mental Health Foundation—Helping Kids Notice How They Are Feeling
Edutopia: 12 Ways to Help Students Identify Their Emotions
AI Disclosure Statement: No artificial intelligence was used in the creation of this post.
Author Bio: Dr. Taylor Thompson is a licensed psychologist and has provided psychological services to youth, young adults, and families for over 20 years. She completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology and School Psychology at Florida State University. She specializes in treating and assessing ADHD, learning disorders, anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorders, behavioral disorders, and relational concerns. Dr. Thompson is currently the Assistant Dean of the Office of Student Counseling Services at the Florida State University College of Medicine. Learn more about Dr. Thompson on the PracticeWise team page.
