Supporting Your Child’s Emotional Growth: 5 Skills You Can Teach at Home

It is common for young children to have strong emotions, such as crying in the grocery store, yelling when told “no,” or acting impulsively when frustrated. These behaviors are part of normal childhood development. When emotional outbursts continue or begin to affect daily life, it can feel overwhelming for both children and caregivers.

Here are five ways to help your child build healthy emotional regulation skills at home.

What Are Emotional Regulation Skills?

Emotional regulation skills are a child’s ability to recognize, manage, and healthily respond to their emotions. This includes understanding what triggers strong feelings and using coping strategies to calm their body and mind, rather than reacting impulsively.

Below are five techniques that you can practice at home.

1. Label Feelings

Using tools like a feelings chart can help your child identify and understand what they are experiencing. Simple phrases such as “It looks like you are feeling frustrated” can help your child feel seen and understood.

2. Encourage Physical Activity

Movement can be a powerful reset for overwhelmed children. Activities such as kicking a soccer ball, dancing, jumping, or going for a walk can help release tension and support emotional regulation.

3. Practice Deep Breathing

Teaching your child to slow down with deep belly breaths or counting to ten supports their ability to pause and reconnect with their body. These skills can be used at home, at school, or during stressful moments.

4. Use Sensory Tools

Sensory activities such as squeezing a stress ball, holding a soft object, using fidgets, or listening to calming music can help ground an overwhelmed child. These tools support emotional regulation by soothing their senses.

5. Model Healthy Coping

Children learn through what they see. Staying calm, practicing coping strategies out loud, and naming your own feelings show your child that strong emotions can be managed safely. For example, “I am feeling frustrated, so I am going to take a deep breath” teaches emotional regulation in real time.

Building emotional regulation skills takes practice and patience. Therapy can also offer a supportive space for children and caregivers.

At Inner Healing Therapy, we help individuals, children, and families navigate life transitions, emotional challenges, and growth. Whether you are seeking support for your child’s emotional regulation, managing stress as a caregiver, or hoping to strengthen family connections, we are here to help you build resilience, healing, and meaningful change.