What are Emotions?

Emotions are what we refer to when discussing

• what we are thinking
• how we are feeling
• how we are processing
• and as a result, how we are behaving in response to a stimulus (something that happens)

Emotions occur in a spectrum:

• high anxiety like excitement, anxiety and fear have an element of the unknown
• low or flat  like lethargy, sadness and confusion where it’s hard to keep going
• well regulated like calm, happy, proud and silly where we feel positive and are functioning well
• upset emotions like frustration, anger and upset where we feel deeply in an unpleasant way
• out of control like irate and rage where we have lost self control over our actions, and we may need help getting back in control. This is often displayed by tantrums, rage or meltdowns which can be either explosive or silent.

Find this printable in Little Wooden Toybox’s Understanding & Recognising Emotions Pack

Important to remember:

• No emotion is good or bad
• We don’t have control over our emotions
• We do have control (in most cases) over how we choose to respond and act to emotions, despite how we feel
• Babies, toddlers do not yet have control over their actions: learning to respond to emotions appropriately comes with time, practice and with experience
• Some people with some disorders/disabilities (Autism, ADHD etc.) will find it very difficult to
  • understand their own emotions
  • other peoples’ emotions
  • control their response to their emotions
  • respond appropriately to others’ emotions

Understanding & Recognising Emotions Pack

59 pages | Digital Download | $19AU

✅ stay calm & well regulated
✅ get organised
✅ gain independence
✅ make home life calmer and happier 💖

Training Bites Library:

Advocating for kids who see, process and experience the world differently with ‘bite size’ pieces of information to help teach and understand a variety of behaviour, education and life skills topics.

Emotional Regulation:

Emotional regulation is our ability to manage and respond to emotional experiences throughout the day.

Many different things affect our emotions throughout the day, and in turn, our emotions affect our behaviour

• sensory input (noise, clothing, smells, lights)
• not getting your way
• tired
• stressed
• hungry
• bored
• anxiety etc

If we are not well regulated, we are more likely to snap, get frustrated, act out or feel the need to retreat.

Emotional Regulation – What it Looks Like:

There are lots of different things we can do to stay regulated throughout the day, this might look like

• coffee breaks
• getting into jarmies as soon as you get home
• fidgeting with a clicky pen
• crunchy foods
• going for a walk
• timeout in the shower … in short – comfort things!

 This of course affects our kids too! And some kids, especially young kids or kids with ADHD, Autism and/or anxiety will not have the ability to regulate themselves – they will need your help.

But it’s very difficult to help someone else to regulate, if you first aren’t well regulated.

We want to invite kids to join our calm, not us join their chaos!

Things we can do to stay well regulated:

Find this printable in Little Wooden Toybox’s Sensory & Emotional Regulations Pack

Emotional Regulation & Sensory Profiles Bundle

Printables | PDF Training | Video Training | Digital Download | $238 now $79AU

✅ stay calm & well regulated
✅ get organised
✅ gain independence
✅ make home life calmer and happier 💖

Training Bites Library:

Advocating for kids who see, process and experience the world differently with ‘bite size’ pieces of information to help teach and understand a variety of behaviour, education and life skills topics.