When Feelings Take Over. Supporting Children Through Embodied Emotion and Positive Reframing
- Melissa Reve
- Aug 26
- 2 min read
Big emotions often arrive without warning—especially in early childhood. One moment a child is calmly building blocks, and the next they’re on the floor in tears, red-faced with frustration. To adults, these swings may seem sudden or irrational. But for young children, emotion is an embodied experience: real, physical, and deeply felt.
Emotions live in the body before they ever reach language. A clenched fist, a turned-away face, a flood of tears—these are the ways children first learn to express what they don’t yet have words for. The body becomes their voice, their outlet, their signal.
Instead of correcting, silencing, or rushing past these signals, what if we paused to witness them? What if we taught children that their emotions are not problems to fix, but messengers to understand?
This shift is vital. When we view emotions as healthy and valid, we create a culture of safety. Children learn that it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel angry, disappointed, confused. And most importantly: those feelings are allowed to move.
Movement matters. Whether it’s an angry dance, a dragon breath, or a quiet walk outside, embodied responses help children metabolize emotion. Rather than forcing calm, we support the journey through the feeling. This is how emotional regulation is built—not through denial, but through expression and gentle guidance.
Once a child has been seen and supported in their emotion, we introduce tools for reframing. Simple self-talk strategies, like "I can try again," or "I can feel mad and still make a good choice," empower children to rewrite the story. This is not toxic positivity. It is positive psychology: the practice of helping children shift from helplessness to agency, from being flooded to finding footing.
In our classrooms and homes, we can model this balance. We can name our own feelings. We can normalize big emotions. And we can co-create spaces where self-awareness and emotional safety go hand-in-hand.
That’s why we created Things Aren’t Going My Way: A Book About Big Emotions. It’s more than a storybook—it’s a mirror, a guide, and a gentle invitation to meet feelings with curiosity and care. With vivid photographs, child-led language, and playful regulation tools, the book supports children in recognizing their emotional "zone" and moving back into calm when they’re ready.
Because when feelings take over, children don’t need to be silenced... They need to be supported.
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