Learning about self-regulation

by Michael, Speech Pathologist

When it comes to communicating, expressing how we feel can be one of the most intimidating challenges for us to grapple with. By the time we might feel the need to talk about our feelings, it is often because the intensity of those feelings has reached a critical point, and in that state we are quite vulnerable to what someone might say in response. It is no surprise, then, that children and adults alike tend to shrink from this challenge, and choose to remain silent instead.

Not sharing our emotions with others, however, can lead to some of our actions seeming quite mysterious to others. And while adults are usually quite good at inventing reasons to explain away their behaviours, children, especially very young children, find this much more difficult, and may simply forego offering any explanation at all. But whether one is inventing reasons or avoiding them altogether, neither strategy is likely to result in solving whatever problems led to those emotions in the first place.

This is exactly the situation that Leo and his classmates in the book, Classroom Chaos, find themselves in. It’s Leo’s first day at school, and he is feeling understandably nervous, but his father teaches him a special poem that helps him calm his troubling feelings:

—Sometimes I’ll feel happy,
—And sometimes I’ll feel sad.
—But sharing my feelings with others,
—Will always help me feel glad.

Reciting this poem to himself, Leo finds to talk about his nervousness with the significant people in his life, and they are able to help him work through those feelings. But more than this, Leo shares his poem with his classmates, and, throughout the day, they each start sharing their emotions and this leads to the resolution of many misunderstandings between them.

Classroom Chaos is a wonderful story about the power of speech and language to bridge the divide between our internal worlds, and the internal worlds of others. When we communicate with confidence, we give others the strength to do the same.

You can find a free copy of Classroom Chaos here.