Understanding this helps children tolerate unpleasant emotions better. It’s okay to make mistakes, but we need to learn from those mistakes.Įxplain to your child that making a mistake can make you feel bad for a little while, but it doesn’t mean that you are bad. They Help Children Learn from Their Mistakesįirst of all, your child should know that everyone makes mistakes. The calming corner gives your child a safe place to go when they have strong emotions.Ī calm down corner, a homework station, a craft center, etc are all ways to add this structure to your home. Setting up different areas in your home for different parts of the day, activities, or routines helps your child feel safe and secure in their own home. One of the many ways to add structure to your child’s life is by structuring your home. This is true for all children but especially important for kids who struggle with rigid thinking. They thrive when their lives are consistent and predictable. Calming Corners Provide StructureĬhildren need structure.
That learning opportunity is lost if your child is isolated in their bedroom when experiencing big emotions. When kids feel validated, they begin learning better ways to communicate emotions. My personal favorite phrase is “It makes sense that you’re feeling _, because _”. That knowledge will come through frequent practice and mutual emotional regulation opportunities. Your calm down corner will help your child learn that their feelings are valid but certain reactions to those feelings are not. Instead, unpleasant emotions can be a learning experience. It’s important to let them know that the way they are feeling is okay. We often tell kids “it’s okay, you don’t need to be sad/mad”, or we isolate them when they feel this way, sending the message that these feelings should be shunned and hidden.Ĭhildren should never feel ashamed of their emotions or feel like they’re being punished for feeling a certain way. These emotions are unpleasant to experience but they are normal. Teaches Children that Unpleasant Emotions are NormalĮveryone feels mad, sad, jealous, etc. Your calm down corner will contain all the tools you need to help your child learn and practice these skills. Later, we develop the ability to recognize more complex feelings, such as annoyed vs furious.įinally, we learn to use this emotional information to guide behavior and manage emotions through self-regulation. Builds Emotional IntelligenceĮmotional intelligence is the ability to recognize our feelings, and the feelings of others (empathy), and to use that information to guide how you think and behave.Įarly development of emotional intelligence begins with identifying core emotions, such as happy, sad, mad, tired. Here is a look at some of those benefits: 1.
There are multitudinous benefits to using a calm down corner, as opposed to traditional “discipline” or punishments like time-outs or removing privileges. They misbehave because they don’t possess the necessary skills required to manage and control their behaviors when they’re in distress.Ī calm down corner provides teaching moments so you can help your child develop these lacking skills. The words positive and non-punitive do not mean permissive Why Should You Create a Calming Corner?Ĭhildren don’t misbehave because they want to.
It’s not used to punish bad behavior, it’s a safe space for processing emotions. The goal when creating a calm down corner is to create a safe space in your home for your child to go if they’re upset or showing signs of anger or frustration. It is a positive and non-punitive alternative to time-outs that helps children develop emotional regulation, provides structure, and leaves them feeling safe and secure. A calming corner (or space, it doesn’t have to be a corner) is a comfortable and calming space for children to go when they need some space, to calm down their bodies, and to take a time-in to process their big feelings.
0 kommentar(er)
