I have had several sessions with both foster parents and adoptive parents this week and we’ve been talking about the importance of allowing and encouraging children to express their feelings, but how difficult this can be when they are raging or you feel that they are directed at you.
It can be useful to remember the following:
– their behaviour is trying to tell us something, maybe ” I am hurt,scared, terrified, upset, sad, confused”
– every time they get their feelings out it means there are less inside for them to carry around and feel overwhelmed by
– when children express their feelings in a rage or temper, it is because they trust that you are able to help them manage their feelings
Lastly, imagine the child having a balloon that is filled with their feelings of anger, hurt, pain, upset, fear and sadness, every time they get upset or angry and let the feelings out, their balloon of hurt and pain gets smaller