Sometimes it might seem like the littlest kids have the biggest emotions. Emotions that come out in loud, unpredictable, and sometimes aggressive ways.  When big emotions are too much for our little ones, we can see tantrums, mean words, or impulsive behaviour. Some of the most common emotions children feel are: Anger, Sadness, Fear, Jealousy to name a few.

While it would be wonderful if children were naturally equipped to stay calm and respond to disappointments or anger in a manageable way, that's not how they work. Young children lack the vocabulary to express their desires or articulate their emotions fully. The resulting frustration can make them susceptible to being overwhelmed by intense feelings. This is where children need adults to step in and help them constructively. It’s important to help our children learn how to talk about their big feelings. We can give them the tools they need to express how they’re feeling, before their emotions take over. Every outburst is an opportunity to steer them in a different direction and to strengthen the skills they need to name and manage their emotions in a way that works for them. We want our children to know All emotions are okay and normal, and want them to understand that it’s okay to feel whatever they are feeling. We also want them to know that emotions aren’t permanent, and if they ride that emotional wave it will eventually end.

Big emotions and tantrums are NOT a sign of bad parenting or bad children. They are never that. Taking tantrums or wild behaviour personally can make it more difficult to use them as an opportunity to nurture valuable skills in a child. It can be easy to feel judged when your child choose the top of the escalator on a busy Saturday morning to throw themselves on the ground because you peeled their banana all the way to the bottom and nothing – nothing – can ever be the same again, but you are raising humans, and it’s hard and it’s important and the path is a crooked one with plenty of uphills, downhills, and hairpin curves.