Little Wins Club · Emotions · Ages 2–7
Naming feelings with young children
Progress over perfection.
Feeling words give children a way to communicate before they can explain a whole story. Offer words as guesses rather than telling them what they must feel.
Try it together
- Start with happy, sad, cross and worried. Point to pictures during a calm moment.
- Describe a feeling in a story or your own day. Ask if your guess fits and accept a different answer.
- When emotions are intense, use fewer words and come back to the conversation later.
Words you could use
“You look disappointed that the game ended. Is that close, or is it another feeling?”
One manageable next step
Name one feeling in a book together today.