Learning to share concerns

Thinking about the future can leave adults and children feeling concerned, confused, or frustrated. While adults often have plenty of words to describe their emotions, it can take time for children to develop the ability to engage in complex conversations about emotions. Adults can help children in this journey by talking about emotions and sharing strategies for managing their feelings. 

It helps if adults also take the time to learn about emotions and how to regulate themselves. An approach called emotion coaching can help buffer childhood stress, and teaches adults to find their own calm first and prepare for difficult moments with self-care. When caregivers have the tools to teach emotion understanding to kids, the knock-on benefits for children can include reduced anxiety, improved behaviour, and less fighting. 

Both stress and anxiety are on the rise in children and in parents. While there’s no easy fix, adults can help young people build resilience and protect their mental health through practising emotional skills. Could talking about emotions and concerns for the future help adults connect with children and discover new ideas?

This video is part of the animation ‘Learning to thrive’. The animation and related resources bring these ideas to life, providing a space to engage in thinking about how caregivers and educators might support young people to thrive. This is also a space for researchers and science journalists to share the latest evidence on the role of nature, play, creativity and agency in young people’s wellbeing.