Naming feelings

Ages 0 to 2 A grown-up reads and plays along · about 5 minutes

Read together

You are happy! Big smile!

You are sad. I am here. I love you.

Do it

1. Make a happy face, a sad face and a sleepy face in a mirror together.
2. Name the feeling when you see it: “You are cross. You wanted the spoon.”
3. Say what you can do: “Let us take a deep breath.” Hold your child close.
4. Read a short picture book with faces, and point to the feelings.

Talk about it

• How do you feel now?
• What helps when you are sad?

For the grown-up

Naming feelings helps children understand them over time. It is also all right for a young child to feel big feelings you cannot fix. Staying calm and close is enough.

God is with us in all feelings. You might say, “God loves you when you are happy and when you are sad.”

Mark as done

Next lesson →

Where this comes from

• American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, pages on early social and emotional development
• ZERO TO THREE, resources on social-emotional development in infants and toddlers

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.