Cultivating Joy in Children: How To Get Through Difficult Times

Life is filled with difficult times so let's teach our children how to get through them. If  they learn now they will be able to get through difficult times successfully as adults and become less anxiety ridden.

In this episode I talk about the importance of why children need to know how to do this and how we can teach them to do this.

How do we teach them?

• Respect their feelings. Don't sugar coat them. Don't tell them it's no big deal, don't tell them let it go.  Instead, validate how they are feeling. You can say something like, "I can see why you are sad".
• Identify feelings.
• Allow yourself to feel them.
• Talk about feelings.
• Identify the physiological changes in your body when you have a feeling change. 
• How can we feel better.
  • Make a list of what you can do to feel better.
    • Imagine your favorite place
    • Take a walk
    • Get a drink of water
    • Take deep breaths
    • Count to 50
    • Jumping Jacks
    • Stretches
    • Play a game
    • Talk with someone you trust
    • Use a fidget
    • Draw
    • Write in a journal
    • Blow bubbles
    • Read a funny book
    • Color
    • Build something
    • Listen to relaxing music
    • Take a break
    • Take a shower/bath
    • Use a calming jar
    • Gratitude
  • You can also remember these steps by using the acronym RAIN
    • Recognize what you’re feeling. Let yourself be open to your emotions of sadness, anger, or fear, and name it.
    • Allow it to be here. Let go of any agenda for it to change and, for a few moments, give it permission to be just as it is.
    • Investigate how it feels in your body on an energetic level without getting into the story behind it or trying to get rid of it. Bring a curiosity or interest that involves simply exploring the landscape of your emotion without needing to figure it out.
    • Non-identification—meaning, don’t take it personally; don’t assume the experience reflects who you are at your core. (For example, don’t say to yourself, “I’m an angry person.”) Recognize that everyone experiences emotions; they are part of the human condition. Open up to that truth and don’t let it define you.

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Lauren's Book, My Dad Died From ALS and How I Found Joy 30 Years Later
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2J15M3Z

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