Emotions are a form of psychological energy, and thus, they cannot be considered as something that is intrinsically bad or good, even though we have ourselves labeled certain emotions as something to be suppressed and something to avoid. As adults, when we see all of that energy threatening and stressing us, our minds naturally generate the response to regulate those feelings. Children, however, have not yet learned the ways of regulating and processing emotions well enough. We, at Banyan Tree School, believe that it is not useful or even healthy for the young minds to try to shut down all of the feelings. The better way is to let them embrace those feelings, and rather, teach them how to express and deal with those emotions.
When we teach our children to recognize, acknowledge, work through, and express emotions, we are basically offering them a gift for a lifetime. The expression of emotions is something so universal and innate to human beings that parents often tend to ignore the fact that children need to have complete self-awareness regarding their feelings. We, at Banyan Tree School, believe that just as any skill that is crucial to the healthy emotional and social development of children, learning to identify and express emotions in an acceptable manner also needs immense support and encouragement.
It normalizes feelings and helps in decreasing anxiety
There is no denying the fact that intense emotions are the universal aspect of human experience. Yet, we need to understand that for a child, these major feelings can be overwhelming and scary. Letting them express their feelings validates their experiences, letting them develop a healthy acceptance of each of their emotions. When children do not need to fight to suppress their feelings, undue stress and anxiety gets eliminated.
Expressing emotions promotes emotional intelligence
Before allowing the children to express their emotions, it is our responsibility to help them understand and name their feelings. A key element of letting children express their emotions is to help them comprehend the feelings by giving a name to each of them. When a child is familiarized with a wide vocabulary of emotional language, they are better able to pinpoint what they are experiencing. In this way, when they express their feelings after being emotionally attuned, it acts as a building block of emotional intelligence.
Expressing emotions soothes down unhealthy behaviors
Once the children develop the skills to identify their emotions, they can begin to garner self-awareness around what soothes and calms them. This is a process of trial and error where we should ideally stay support our children to aid them in observing and identifying the things that can lower their stress. When children are not given proper avenues of expression, their bottled up feelings can lead to unhealthy behavior.
Expressing emotions enables children to be at their best
We, at Banyan Tree, believe that if children fall into a pattern of suppressing their feelings, they will not be able to function to their full developmental capacity. Unresolved feelings linger in the subconscious mind, where they will compromise the internal resources and mental energy that a child needs to function in the day to day environment. Expression of emotions frees up their mind and provides them an opportunity to be their best self.
Expressing feelings helps to work through emotions
If children know how to express themselves, then they are less likely to engage in any negative coping mechanism, which may otherwise lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. When the children are able to identify each emotion, express the same in an acceptable manner, and learn to move past the incident, you can be assured that their emotional expression is paving the way for sound mental health.
At Banyan Tree School, one among the Top CBSE schools in Chandigarh, we understand that though unintentionally, parents often tend to encourage the suppression of feelings in children through statements like “stop crying,” “do not fuss over it,” “it’s not a big deal,” and so on. It might feel like a well-meaning attempt to teach reason to children, but the attempt is lost on a developing brain that only feels stress and anxiety in having to walk away from expressing innate feelings. As people that the children look up to, we as teachers or parents, need to make them understand that feelings come and go, and expressing the same will just help them move past their intense emotions. Our aim at Banyan Tree School is to ensure the enduring health and well-being of each of our pupils. When we support our children in acquiring the skills to identify and express their emotions, we contribute not only to their long-term mental health but also to their overall wellness, and that, according to us, is one of the best things that we can ensure for our future generations.
