Coopers Edge School

Emotion Coaching uses moments of heightened emotion and the resulting behaviour to guide and teach children a more effective response.  Through the use of Emotion Coaching, the child's emotional state is verbally acknowledged and validated, promoting a sense of security and feeling 'felt'. 

What does Emotion Coaching do?

• It gives children strategies to deal with ups and downs.
• It enables children to accept negative emotions as being normal and that all emotions are normal.  It also enables children to learn that not all behaviour is ok.  Children learn to understand that their feelings are not the problem, their behaviour is.
• Builds trusting and respectful relationships with children.
• Gives children a vocabulary to talk about emotions.
• It gives children the ability to self-regulate

How do we Emotion Coach?

In order to emotion coach we must be aware of our own emotions and ability to self-regulate.  Ensure you remain calm whilst dealing with your child when they are in a heightened emotional state.

Children need the adult to co-regulate with them initially whilst teaching the strategies for self-regulation.

Follow the 4 steps to Emotion Coaching. 

Use the zones of regulation and strategies to use with your child when they are displaying certain emotions.

4 steps to Emotion Coaching

Step 1

Recognising the child’s feelings and  empathising with them – connection before correction

Step 2

Validating the feelings and labelling them – name it, to tame it

Step 3

Setting limits on behaviour (if needed)

Step 4

Problem-solving with the child

Why do children lose control of their emotions?