We need to help children understand that the clouds of their emotions can (and will) roll on by. They won’t feel sad or angry or hurt or lonely forever. This is a difficult concept for kids to understand at first. When they hurt or when they’re scared, it’s sometimes hard for them to imagine that they won’t always suffer. Taking the long view isn’t usually that easy even for an adult, much less a young child. So we have to help them understand that feelings are temporary—on average, an emotion comes and goes in ninety seconds.
