Becoming an Emotion Coach

I'm over at The Gottman Institute today with a post on becoming emotional coaches for our children. Did you now that being able to understand and manage emotions well is one of the key predictors for a successful life? Read on to learn how to give your child a head start!

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What determines how children turn out? This is the question on every parent's mind. What can we do to give our children the best start in life and to ensure that they grow into kind, intelligent, and happy people? As parents, we all want to raise kids who:
Are compassionateTreat others wellAre confidentThink for themselvesHave good valuesAre proud but not arrogantValue themselves and their abilitiesHave morals we respect and admireInterestingly, world-renowned relationship researchers Drs. John and Julie Gottman have determined two predictors for how children turn out.

1.  Emotion regulation: The ability to understand and manage feelings

2.  Social relationships: How children get along with adults and other children

Unfortunately, very few parenting resources discuss these two predictors. Most parenting resources focus only on discipline, and that alone does not help parents reach these goals. Realizing that parenting is about so much more than a discipline method - that a big part of good parenting is teaching children emotion regulation - I turned to the Gottmans’ Emotion Coaching: The Heart of Parenting video program.

Dr. John Gottman says that parents cannot accomplish all of these goals with discipline alone, and that this is instead accomplished through what Dr. Julie Gottman calls “Magic Moments.” These are moments of connecting with children when they are emotional. It is through connecting during Magic Moments that parents can really influence how children feel about themselves and about the world. How we connect during those moments is dependent upon our own “meta-emotions,” which is how we feel about feelings, and of course, how we feel about feelings is a direct result of how we were treated in childhood when we showed emotions!

In general, the Gottmans discovered that there are 2 types of parents when it comes to meta-emotions.

1.  Dismissing/disapproving parents who see sadness and anger as though they are harmful poisons. These parents will do anything to change the child’s emotion to a positive one, feeling that anything other than a happy child is an indication that they are a failure as a parent. They says these parents view emotions as if they were a piece of clothing that you can choose to put on or take off.

2.  Emotion coaches are parents who view emotions as an opportunity to connect and teach. These parents, Dr. John Gottman says, notice lower intensity emotion in their children as well as in themselves. They meet all emotion first with understanding and empathy, and then these parents set limits or problem-solve, depending upon whether misbehavior was connected to the emotion.

In the Emotion Coaching program, the Gottmans outline the benefits of having at least one emotion coaching parent. These children:
Have higher achievementHave fewer infectious illnessHave better impulse control and delayed gratificationRequire less disciplineWhine lessAre buffered from most negative effects of divorceHow to be an Emotion Coach:
1.  Help children verbally label their emotions. To be able to regulate emotions, children must understand them – what they feel like, what brings them on, and what to do when they feel them.

2. ...continue reading how to become an emotion coach at The Gottman Institute Blog

Posted by Positive Parenting: Toddlers and Beyond on Friday, August 21, 2015