Understanding Emotions

As children mature into adolescence, they face new social and emotional challenges and experiences as they begin to socialize. Children need strategies and skills to navigate the regularly changing world around them so they can communicate their wants and needs and to manage the stresses associated with learning new social norms and fitting into peer groups.

Elementary School

Between the ages of 6 and 12, children spend more time talking and playing with their peers. Bonding with pro-social peers is an essential protective factor to promote healthy relationships and prevent risky behavior like substance use and aggressive behavior.

We want children to know that their feelings are ok and that it is normal to get angry or to be sad or to be happy. The learning comes in how we express those feelings and how we ask for help when we are angry or sad.

Encouraging children to share their feelings helps them ask for help when they are unhappy or frustrated, laying the foundation for the development of problem solving and resiliency skills. They also need to develop the vocabulary to express those feelings and the capacity for self-awareness and social awareness to assess complex social situations and choose the healthiest course of action.

Adolescents

Adolescence represents a period of fundamental physical and social changes that often make it challenging for young people to manage emotions constructively. Once students reach junior and high school, they are more adept at self-reflection. However, because the pre-frontal cortex is still developing, they are prone to impulsive behavior and their decisions are greatly influenced by their peers as well as their emotions.

To counter the developmental limitations, learning and practicing strategies to recognize the building of emotions in stressful situations and to consider the behavior of peers and the impulse to follow along, prepares the teen to stop and consider these influences and set a wiser course of action consistent with set goals and expectations. Strong self-awareness and social-awareness capacity builds confidence in teens as they recognize that they are ready to prioritize their goals and set a path to reach those goals so they can confidently resist or avoid choices that would interfere with their own success.

Too Good programs provide educators with the tools to empower their students with age-appropriate social-emotional learning strategies and development constructs presented in a social-interactive lesson design. Students learn to communicate effectively, manage their emotions and the emotions of their peers, and tools to help them make good choices. These skills help them navigate challenges at school, making friends, and coping with their changing emotions without resorting to risky behavior like substance abuse, bullying, or acting out.

To learn more about how Too Good can help educators provide emotional guidance for children of all ages...

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