A great tool to support emotional expression is to encourage children to write down thoughts from their day. Supporting children to reflect and 'get it all out' can mean that they can then enjoy their evening and sleep better. For older children, journaling is a good practice to encourage. For younger children, you could try using a worry monster.
In the video, I mention writing down thoughts and then forgetting about them. This is for little niggles from the school day. I'm not suggesting that you tell a child to forget about a bigger issue such as bullying! But the worry monster can be a good way to open up the conversation between the child and parent about bigger issues and then you can speak to school and seek support.
Sometimes writing it all down isn't enough and a child needs to physically shake off the day...quite literally! Have a look at my video below on therapeutic shaking and as well as encouraging your child to do this, you might like to do it yourself...it's such a good technique to shift your energy and shake off any anxiety or stress. |