I’ve been reading about the importance of emotional development in kids, and I want to do more to support my children. Does anyone have suggestions for using positive reinforcement to help with this? I’m looking for easy, everyday things I can do - nothing too complicated. Thanks for any ideas!
I’ve been working on this with my 5-year-old too. One thing that’s helped is naming emotions when we see them in books or shows. We’ll say things like “Look, he’s feeling frustrated!” It gets my kid thinking about feelings.
I’m curious how others handle big emotions though. Sometimes my child has meltdowns and I’m not sure if I’m responding the right way. What do you all do when your kids are really upset? Do you talk it out right away or wait till they’re calm?
Also, I try to praise effort instead of results, but I worry I’m not consistent. How do you all remember to do this regularly?
I’ve found that making a game out of identifying emotions can be really effective. We play ‘emotion detective’ where we try to guess how characters in movies or books are feeling based on their expressions or actions.
It’s become a fun activity that my kid actually looks forward to, and it’s helped develop empathy without feeling like a chore. We also have an ‘emotion of the day’ that we discuss at dinner - it’s simple but opens up great conversations.
For positive reinforcement, we have a sticker chart for kind actions or times when my child handles emotions well. It’s visual and gives a sense of accomplishment.
We do a daily ‘feelings check-in’ at breakfast. The kids rate their mood on a scale of 1-5.
It’s quick, but helps us talk about emotions naturally. They’ve gotten better at expressing themselves over time.
Praising specific actions works well too. Like ‘You kept trying even when it was hard.’
Hey there! I’ve been through this journey with my kids. One simple thing that worked well was creating a ‘win jar.’ We’d write down small victories on slips of paper and put them in a jar. At the end of the week, we’d read them together. It got the kids noticing their own progress and feeling good about it.
Another easy trick was using ‘I noticed’ statements. Instead of just saying ‘good job,’ I’d say something like ‘I noticed you shared your toy with your sister. That was kind.’ It helped the kids understand exactly what they did well.
These little habits took some getting used to, but they became part of our routine. The kids started recognizing emotions better and seemed more confident. Every family is different though, so don’t worry if it takes some trial and error to find what works for you. 
In our house, we’ve found that a feelings chart really helps. It’s just a simple poster with different emotions. The kids point to how they’re feeling, which opens up conversations.
We also started a gratitude ritual at dinner. Everyone shares one good thing from their day. It’s amazing how it gets the kids noticing positive stuff.
For praising effort, I struggled to remember at first. So I put little reminders around the house - just post-it notes saying things like ‘notice hard work.’ It became more natural over time.
When emotions run high, we have a calm-down corner with pillows and sensory toys. The kids go there to settle down before we talk things through. It gives everyone a chance to reset.