How to validate your child's emotions?

Validating our children's emotions is one of the most powerful tools we have to strengthen their emotional security and their bond with us.

Sometimes, when a child cries, gets angry, or becomes frustrated, as parents we want to calm them down quickly or make them stop feeling bad. But behind every emotion lies a message. Validating their feelings doesn't mean agreeing with their behavior, but rather acknowledging their emotion and supporting them so they can learn to understand and regulate it.

What does it mean to validate an emotion?

Validating is telling someone, in our own words, that they are being validated.

"What you feel makes sense, and I'm here for you."

When you validate, you help your child to:

• To feel heard and understood,

• Learning to name what you feel,

• Develop emotional self-regulation and empathy.

Here are three steps to validate your emotions

1. Describe the situation: Speak in a neutral and calm tone.

2. Name the emotion: Put into words what you seem to be feeling

3. Validate their experience: Show understanding without minimizing.

Try the following exercise

	Example	How would you put it into practice with your child?
Describe the situation	You're trying to go up that side and it's not going as planned.
Name the emotion	I can see you're feeling frustrated.
Validate	It's difficult when the Things don't go as planned. we think and it can It might be annoying, but you You can achieve it, here I'm here to help.

Try filling this chart with different everyday situations and observe how, little by little, it becomes more natural to name and validate your child's emotions.

Download your practical guide

[Click here to download the practice sheet “How to validate your child’s emotions”]

HERRAMIENTA VALIDACION EMOCIONAL.pdf

Download PDF • 2.08MB

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