Emotions.
Do you basically assume that we’d all be better off if we didn’t have any emotions?
Or maybe you let your emotions take the wheel and drive you wherever they want you to go.
Raising healthy kids means that we raise kids who are able to handle their emotions. We want to help you raise godly children who are emotionally intelligent and emotionally healthy.
Emotions Are From God
“Jesus wept” is the shortest verse in the Bible, but it is powerful. It shows that Jesus had emotions. He had deep enough emotions that His body responded in a way that His emotions were visible. Our children are a lot like Jesus in this way. We often know exactly what they are feeling just by looking at them. They are, however, often unlike Jesus in the way that they express those feelings, especially when they are little. Our children do not always practice self-control with their emotions, and they aren’t always responding in a godly manner. They are, in fact, humans.
It is our job as parents to help them navigate all the “feels.” We need to help them understand what they are feeling and then how to respond in a godly way to those feelings.
Emotions are indicators that something is going on. They should not dictate your reaction but instead alert you that something needs to be addressed. Having a more accurate vocabulary to describe how you are truly feeling is key to getting the healing and support you need to move on. It is important that we help our kids pause long enough to figure out what they are feeling and why they are feeling it. This skill set is key to navigating life with all its ups and downs. When emotions occur we want our child to create a habit of taking that emotion to the Lord first and asking Him what to do with it. Next we want to teach our kids to dive into Scripture to see what God says about it. Next we can help them learn how to respond to that emotion in a God honoring way.
But we know that this isn’t easy! That’s why we have created two Family Conversation Guides that will help you to guide your kids as they navigate the big world of Emotions. Part 1 is about getting the conversations started and understanding our emotions. Part 2 is all about action – responding to emotions in a God-honoring way. Here is what each Guide contains:
Family Conversations: Emotions, Part 1
- A guide to having the “What is an emotion” conversation
- Emotion Emojis and an Emotions Wheel with vocabulary words to describe and identify emotions
- A fun activity to do with your kids so that talking about emotions can become a normal thing in your family
- A guide to creating a safe environment in your home for emotions conversations
- Our favorite emotions resources
Family Conversations: Emotions, Part 2
- A guide to helping your children go deeper and understand the root cause of their emotions and ‘the emotions behind the emotions’
- A great list of Scriptures that go along with 31 different emotions, so you can help your children respond to their emotions with Truth
- An activity to do with your kids to help them brainstorm some possible Godly responses to the situation.
We hope that these resources can get you started and support you in your efforts to guide your kids through their emotions. We want to help you raise godly children who are emotionally intelligent and emotionally healthy. Join us on this journey of creating family conversations in your home!
