In this blog, you'll learn how paying attention to facial expressions and body language can help teach your child to label their emotions and become a “feeling detective” for themselves and their friends.
We often rush through our days, juggling endless tasks and commitments. It's easy to overlook the little things, like how your child is feeling. But, as I’ve said before—practice makes habits. And when you start focusing on these cues, these tools can become a natural part of your routine.
Facial Expressions Matter
You’re familiar with your child’s tone, words, and even their screams, but how closely have you watched their facial expressions and body language? These can give you vital clues. For example, you can tell when your child is upset, excited, or scared just by their expressions. Recognizing these cues early can help you anticipate and address triggers before frustration builds - leading to the zone where bad choices generally happen.
What to Look For
Notice the little things: furrowed eyebrows, frowns, tight fists, tense shoulders, or a strained body. Your child is communicating more than you might realize, often long before they put their feelings into words.
In an ideal world, this would be a perfect system, but even when things aren’t perfect, noticing these signals can make a difference.
Tips and Tricks:
Define: Show your child pictures of kids with various facial expressions—angry, sad, mad, excited, surprised, etc. You can find great images on sites like Pexels.com or by doing a quick Google image search for these emotions.
Discuss: Talk about the body language and facial expression in the pictures. Do they have tight or relaxed muscles? Are their lips tight, loose, or open? Are their eyes squinted, wide open, looking up or down? Where are their arms and fists? All these questions can help your child see how the picture depicts an emotion.
Label: Have your child label each picture with an emotion. If you are using the Zones of Regulation discuss what zone color it would be sorting into - green, blue, yellow, or red.
Practice Through Play: Try a game called "Guess What I'm Feeling?" Take turns acting out different emotions, and the other person has to guess what it is.
The more your child connects with their feelings—whether it's anger, sadness, excitement, or surprise—the easier it will be for them to express those emotions to you. In return, you'll be better equipped to offer tools and strategies to support them, and sometimes, you may even prevent an emotional outburst before it happens.
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