EP 43 | How Children Learn to Name (and Share) Their Feelings

EP 43 | How Children Learn to Name (and Share) Their Feelings

From The Bloom Room: An Early Childhood Podcast by Danica See

October 20, 2025 · 27 min

About this episode

This episode explores how children learn to express and share their emotions effectively.

"Use your words." But what if the words don’t exist yet? In Part 3 of my Big Feelings 101 series, I dive deep into emotional expression and vocabulary - how children move from raw feelings to regulated communication, and why the way we respond to their emotions matters more than we think. You’ll hear: 💬 Why some children stop showing emotions (and what that really means) 💬 How emotional language builds brain pathways for regulation 💬 The difference between naming feelings and truly connecting them to experience 💬 Four ways to build emotional vocabulary that go beyond charts and scripts 💬 What “display rules” are - and how we teach context without shutting down authenticity This episode is your guide to turning emotional expression into emotional intelligence - so children can feel their feelings and share them in ways that deepen connection.   Articles Emotion Wheel For Kids: What It Is, Benefits, and How to Use Implications of Carolyn Saarni’s work for preschoolers’ emotional competence Early childhood teachers as socializers of young children’s emotional competence Early childhood teachers’ socialization of children’s emotional competence Want to know how to…

People in this episode

Host: Danica See

Topics covered

  • emotional expression
  • emotional vocabulary
  • child development
  • emotional intelligence
  • parenting strategies

Keywords

  • emotional expression
  • emotional vocabulary
  • child emotions
  • parenting
  • emotional intelligence

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Big Feelings 101

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