Building Emotional Competence: Helping Children Understand, Express, and Regulate Big Feelings

Helping children understand, express, and regulate their emotions is a big job and the heart of our work - but we can’t teach emotional regulation without emotional safety. This guide gives you simple, actionable strategies to build the foundations of emotional competence through co-regulation, felt safety, and responsive relationships without the need to wait for the perfect SEL curriculum or behaviour program.

You’ll Learn:

→ The three building blocks of emotional competence: knowledge, expression, and regulation

→ Co-regulation strategies that go beyond breathing techniques

→ What felt safety really means - and how to create it in your space

→ How to support emotional development through daily interactions

→ Practical scripts, examples, and in-the-moment support strategies