Redirecting strong emotions into the right channel can be difficult even for adults, and helping our children develop in this direction, if anything, is even harder. Fortunately, there are numerous strategies we can employ, but it's worth considering which one works best in a given situation. In this regard, it can be helpful to brainstorm with the children, and in the end, they can decide which method suits them best.

One of the first steps in mastering the skill of emotion regulation is being able to identify our emotions and express them in a way that is understandable and acceptable to others. The next step is learning to recognize and understand the triggers. Once both emotions and triggers are clear to us, we'll be able to learn and effectively use various emotion regulation techniques.

If you're unsure whether your child has enough ammunition to identify and express their emotions, read through the articles "Empathy" and "Let's Talk About Emotions!" If you see room for improvement, start with the suggested topics there. If, however, they are already confident in this area, you can move on to understanding the triggers of emotions. Anything that helps identify emotions and associated behaviors (such as an anger/anxiety journal, detailed in the exercises at the end of the article) can be useful in helping the child understand their own reactions by separating these emotions from their behaviors. It's important to emphasize and understand that we have the right to any feeling, but it's our decision how we react to them. Because it's okay to feel angry, but it's not okay to break things. This is where the following "calming" strategies come in handy, leading us to the next step where the child learns how to respond appropriately to overwhelming negative emotions (e.g., anger, anxiety, etc.).