Learning to manage emotions is essential to enjoy a full and fulfilling life. Emotions do not define us, they are sensations that come and go and that are usually linked to something external that happens to us that affects us. That’s why we must learn to control these emotional swings from the very young and prevent them from making us make bad decisions or have too impulsive attitudes.
In this article, we will focus on the period of childhood, since during the years of children’s growth it is when concepts are best assimilated and the solid foundations are generated to be able to face any situation in our lives. Here we leave you a selection of activities to work the emotions with children that you can start practicing right now with yours.
Games and Activities to Work Emotions with Children
During childhood different skills can be taught to boys and girls through dynamics, games, and activities. Laughing and fun are the best educators, so a good way to instruct the little ones is through the different proposals we tell you below. Pay attention.
The Theatre of Emotions
It is an ideal game so that boys and girls can start identifying emotions. To do this, we can create a small puppet theatre and each character represents a particular emotion: joy, sadness, anger, etc. You can use toys that already have your children or create them again by doing family crafts, you’ll have an ideal time.
To play this theater, the child will have to choose a character and invent a story in which the particular emotion emerges that we want to work. Afterwards, we will reflect on emotion and assess whether it is positive, or negative and how to do so not to get carried away by it.
Draw Emotions
Another of the best activities to work emotions is this proposal which is very simple to make. To do it, you only have to place your little one in front of a mirror and then tell him to gesticulate the different emotions that occur to you.
When he has, he should draw them on paper and write when he felt like this and what he could have done to feel better or calmer. The trick is to identify the emotions you feel, but also reflect on them to work them.
Bingo of Emotions
And we end up talking about another game that is ideal for the little ones to learn to better manage their emotions. It’s about preparing a kind of bingo, but instead of numbers, we’ll have emotions. To do this, we will cut different gestures of people from magazines and newspapers and distribute them to all participants. The mom or dad will sing the different emotions to see if the little one can identify them.
This game can be played both individually and in pairs. After having finished with all emotions, nothing better than reflecting on all of them, analyzing when we feel that way, and understanding everything that happens inside us when we get carried away by a particular emotion.