Understanding Emotional Regulation: Insights from a Child Psychologist
A child psychologist explains that emotional regulation is the skill of managing feelings, not eliminating them, and outlines how it develops and can be taught.
In a recent explainer, a child psychologist describes emotional regulation as the ability to manage emotions rather than suppress them, distinguishing it from temperament, which is biologically based. The piece outlines self-regulation and co-regulation, noting the latter’s role in supporting kids through intense feelings. It illustrates how thoughts, bodily reactions, and actions form emotional cycles that can be altered by adjusting any component.
Effective regulation turns emotions into useful signals, while dysregulation can impair health, sleep, relationships, and performance. The psychologist recommends building an emotion vocabulary, modeling healthy expression, and using techniques like breathing, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral strategies, alongside proper sleep, nutrition, and exercise, to develop lasting regulation skills.
Why it matters
Knowing how to regulate emotions can improve mental health, relationships, and overall well-being.
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