Understanding your feelings
Answer the following:
Feeling sadness is comfortable for me. YES NO
Feeling anger is common for me. YES NO
I saw my caregivers express their emotions in healthy ways. YES NO
I was taught to stuff my emotions and be “strong” YES NO
I was met with empathy and warmth when I was in emotional pain as a child. YES NO
I know how to contain my emotions in a healthy way, and think before I act, even when mad, sad, or tired. YES NO
Instructions: For each statement below, select whether you accept or reject it.
Be honest, this is for self-reflection.
- “If you give in to a child’s tantrums and act soft, you will teach them they can get whatever they want by pitching a fit.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “There are good feelings and there are bad feelings.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “Spoiled children are created by a parent validating their child’s emotions.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “Letting children feel their feelings is coddling them and not teaching them how to exist in the real world.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “If you respond with empathy and validation to a child’s feelings and let them stay in their feelings until they pass, you teach your child to sulk in their sorrow and think depression is normal.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “Emotions are fine to feel, but there are acceptable ways of feeling them, and unacceptable ways of feeling them.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “My child should be able to control their feelings on their own.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “My child being allowed to feel their feelings is unproductive and inconvenient for me.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject
- “A child who throws a tantrum is a brat, and should be punished for their behavior.”
- ☐ Accept
- ☐ Reject