Tiny Humans, Big Emotions Quotes

“It’s hard to be the person that someone can crumble to”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“Our initial thought and internal reaction to something is automatic. It occurs subconsciously. Instead of reacting on autopilot”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“Self-regulation begins with self-awareness. We started by helping Jonah notice what he was feeling in his body. Similarly to how we say “I have butterflies in my stomach” to identify excitement or nervousness”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“especially when those situations require decisions about holding a boundary versus reducing expectations”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“When we believe they are doing the best they can with the tools they have in that moment, it can help us reach a place of compassion and curiosity.”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“I want them to have the tools to navigate and process the inevitable hard stuff so they’re able to live a life that feels connected, compassionate, and curious.”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“What’s my long-term goal for this child? What’s my goal for our relationship? Am I modeling the values I want them to inherit?”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“proclivity”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“And a part of me surfaces full of discomfort when I have to ask for help with tasks that are typically my load to carry. Sometimes that part of me shows up with shame—part of me feels that I should be able to do it all and is afraid that if I keep asking for help, at some point I won’t be lovable. That the people around me will realize I’m too needy and will leave me.”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“It’s natural for parents to want their kids to be happy, but life isn’t designed for us to feel happy all the time. Life is complicated, and the human experience comes part and parcel with a complex variety of emotions from a very young age. You can even argue that this rich tapestry of emotions—happiness, joy, anxiety, sorrow, fear, etc.—is what gives us such a rich life experience and is essential to what makes us human.”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“(directing your breath into your belly so your belly, rather than your chest, moves in and out with your inhale and exhale).”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“You aren’t failing if you aren’t perfect. You’re human. Your mess is welcome here.”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“Our parents’ generation just didn’t have access to the brain science and emotion science that we do today. Parenting in the ’80s still meant teaching “resilience” by not making a big deal out of emotions. Phrases such as “turn it off” or “just ignore them” were meant with good intentions to strengthen us. Since the ’90s, we’ve learned that emotional intelligence skills are connected to success in relationships and at work. We want children to learn these skills early on, while their brains are building a foundation. We share a vision of a future with emotionally intelligent communities—communities where people embrace dialogue and diversity because they are comfortable with their emotions and those of others. In this world, we are raising compassionate, confident, loving children who mature into adults who can count on one another to lead and to follow intelligently, respect personal boundaries and simultaneously reach out to those who are isolated, and acknowledge their mistakes and celebrate their strengths. This shared vision further ignited our drive to do this work. It was a slow and tedious process to develop and articulate the method, but the name came early on: Collaborative Emotion Processing.”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

“These are the three questions that guide me when I feel like I'm falling into the comparison rut:
1. What's my long-term goal for this child?
2. What's my goal for our relationship?
3. Am I modeling the values I want them to inherit?”
― Alyssa Blask Campbell, Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children