"that feels better" - Helping children with their feelings

Just like learning to ride a bike, children and young people learn how to cope with feelings. This includes feelings which can difficult, such feeling angry, upset, disappointed, frustrated or bored.

It’s normal to have these feelings but children often react by behaving in ways that parents find challenging. Because children and teenagers are not as good as adults at expressing their feelings, they usually show them by their behaviour, e.g being moody, having a tantrum, or crying.

You can teach your child that difficult feelings are OK,  and help your child learn better ways to manage them.  This will help your child to cope better with things like ups and downs at school or with any family changes. Your child will be better at making the most of experiences, rather than being overwhelmed by them. Your child will be “better adjusted” as an adult.

There are three versions of 'that feels better':, for pre-schoolers, for primary school aged children and for teenagers. Each pack has ideas about how to learn to manage feelings, so ”that feels better”.

(P.S. all these ideas work for grown-ups too! Maybe try them out and show your child how well you can manage your own feelings).