Our feelings are teachers.

This week in kindergarten classrooms, we talked about anger. The students learned that anger is an uncomfortable feeling. It is not "bad", in that all of our feelings are teachers. Anger lets us know that something needs to change. The developmental task of young children is to learn what to do with these feelings. The first step is identifying them, in that we feel our feelings in our bodies. Their homework was to notice where in their bodies they notice they feel anger. When we notice these uncomfortable feelings, we can take care of ourselves.

As caregivers, the best way to make sure our children respond to anger appropriately is to MODEL APPROPRIATE RESPONSES TO ANGER. Show your children it is ok to be angry, but it is never ok to yell, hit, or call names. When we do make mistakes, it is up to us to name those to our child, apologize, and repair. Our children are watching us. They do not expect us to be perfect. The data is clear that shaming does not work. Anger and other uncomfortable feelings can be met with compassion. Self compassion allows us to recognize our anger has a place, and it has something to teach us.