Peaceful Ways to Calm Down an Emotional Child

Please Share With Your Friends!

Do you have an emotional child? 

Having an emotional child can be daunting sometimes. Especially if you find yourself having to deal with your own emotions daily. It can be difficult to know how to help your child regulate their emotions and calm down an emotional child.

It is important to remember that children do not come with a manual on handling emotions. Children feel these big emotions and don’t understand how to cope. Our job as their parents is to help them learn how to self-soothe and react in ways that are not overly emotional to situations. 

One great way we can do this is to model our own self-regulation regarding our emotions. I have noticed that when I become overly emotional in reacting to my child’s emotional outbursts, it makes things much worse.

It does not help my child to have my own meltdown when they are in the middle of a meltdown. There are better ways we can use to help our children learn how to cope and self-soothe when they become overly emotional. The first step is to stay calm if you can and if you can’t stay calm, having someone to tag-team with helps tremendously. 

When your child is overly-emotional, it’s tempting to dip into reactive parenting. 

I have been a reactive parent before.

If you do not know what reactive parenting is, it is reacting to your child’s emotions and the situation in an emotional way. If you really look at it you can see how your reactive parenting affects your child’s emotions and being able to control their own emotions.

When you react to your child’s misbehavior out of emotions, they will also learn to react to situations with their emotions.

I have found that there is a better way, though, parenting from peace. Will you always be able to be a peaceful parent? Absolutely not. However, you can take steps to help you become a more peaceful parent. If you want some ideas, I provide some great ones here.

5 peaceful ways to help calm down an emotional child and learn to self-regulate 

Give a tight hug and count to 20 

I have a child who is overly emotional sometimes. Who am I kidding? All my children can be overly emotional. So can I. Learning how to calm down an emotional child has always been on my radar.

My oldest daughter can become overly emotional when overly stimulated or feels like she is not in control of something. She does not have emotional meltdowns often, but when she does, it can be difficult to help her calm down enough to self-soothe. 

One day we were at my mom’s house, and my oldest daughter had difficulty letting go of control with her cousins. They were not playing the games the way she wanted them to. It would’ve been easy for me to just say get over it; it was actually pretty tempting.

However, my mom had heard a theory that people need human contact for up to 20 seconds to help them calm down. So she took her to a separate room and said we would hug each other for 20 seconds And count out loud. Do you know what happened? My daughter calmed down.

If your child has difficulty handling their emotions, try hugging them for 20 seconds or more and counting out loud. They may just need that physical contact from you to help them regulate their emotions.

Put on a song and get moving. 

Dancing can be a fun distraction. Does your child have a favorite song they can’t get enough of?

Try putting the song on and having a dance party in the kitchen. You don’t even have to tell your child that you’re going to have a dance party. Simply start singing and dancing like a goofball, and chances are they will want to join in! Once they join in, they may forget about what they were overly emotional about or be able to look at the situation differently. 

Play classical music 

One day during school, my oldest daughter and I learned that classical music helps people regulate emotions. If you or your child is feeling emotional, try playing classical music and listening to it for 10 to 20 minutes. You may be surprised at its effect on your emotions and mood. If you don’t like classical music, try playing something soothing. My go-to is always Christian worship music in the mornings or if my children or I feel cranky. 

Validate your child’s feelings 

Sometimes all a person needs is to have their feelings and emotions validated. Your child is no different. They need to know that you understand why they are feeling a certain way and that you can help them cope with these feelings and emotions.

So don’t be afraid to get on the level and talk to them about why they’re feeling a certain way. You don’t have to agree with why they’re feeling this way. You may even think it’s a little silly, but their emotions are not silly to your child. When you validate, you help your child learn to self-soothe and talk to somebody about their emotions and feelings.

They will then learn that it is never silly for them to feel how they do, and they can always come to mommy or daddy to talk to them about their feelings and emotions.

Ask your child if they want to start over. 

Sometimes we just wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I have woken up cranky before, and I know you have. Children are no different in this aspect, either.

They are human and will have days when they feel more emotional and cranky than other days. Sometimes, you have to ask your child if they want to start over. Not receive punishment for their misbehavior and emotions but simply try to turn the day around with you. 

Ask your child to take a break for a couple of minutes, and if then, when they’re ready to start over, start over with them.

It’s normal to be emotional sometimes. Learning how to self-regulate our emotions comes with maturity. 

It’s not fair for us to expect children to be mature and control their emotions at all times, especially when we sometimes have trouble controlling them.

It is our job as parents to help our children and guide them and learn how to self-soothe, and it’s completely possible with these ideas to help your child calm down when they’re feeling emotional.

---

Related: 14 Best Tips To Overcome Angry Mommy Today

If you are new to the Peaceful Nest Blog, welcome!

Be sure to read my top posts on parenting:

• Why Consistent Parenting Matters
• 12 Habits of Immensely Peaceful Moms
• 63 Mom Hacks That Are Pure Genius
• Connect With Your Child and Build Up Their Heart

Are you looking for ways to become a peaceful mom but you aren’t sure how?

I created a free planner for moms like me, who want to create a peaceful home but let the stress of never having it all together defeat them, because whoever has it together? The best we can do is plan for peace and roll with the punches, right? If you want your free planner you can get it below!

Are you looking for a mommy tribe?

Our Facebook group, From Chaos to Calm, is full of encouraging and supportive moms like you. We would love to have you join us! Join From Chaos to Calm Mom group on Facebook.

Don’t forget to follow The Peaceful Nest on Facebook and Instagram!

And remember, sharing is caring! Share this post on Pinterest below!