Emotions=Data

Sometimes having a mindset shift or a different lens to look at things can be so helpful. For me, viewing emotions (both my own and my child’s) as data has been so helpful at learning to allow space and time for all feelings.

When we see emotions as data or signals from our bodies, we are able to get curious about them. As adults, we have to help our children learn to decode this data so it isn’t so confusing, scary, and overwhelming for them.

Some ways to build this emotional literacy (data crunching):
-Name the emotion
-Empathize with them
-Validate the emotion
-Support them with calm presence through the emotion
-Talk about how they are experiencing this feeling in their body

Over time your child will learn to receive and decode and understand their own data. But for now, they may need your help to translate the data they are receiving from their body.

For more on responding to your child’s emotions, see this blog post where I talk about 3 responses that might be hurting more than helping and what you can do instead.