help your child learn a new alphabet with the emotional ABCs :: review

I have a lot of mommy friends with boys, many of them with multiple boys. And without throwing any of them under the bus, I will admit to having heard more than once, “Boys are SO much easier than girls.” I can attest to this fact. As the mama of one little man and two sweet little divas, I have a pretty wide array of emotions flying about on a normal day. But I will also admit that my son’s emotions are a lot more black and white than my 6-year old daughter’s. So I was really excited to check out the Emotional ABC’s program in the hopes that it would help to navigate some of the drama of our day-to-day struggles. Their program is perfect for any child, even a one such as my daughter who mostly just needs help in figuring out how to get past the flood of emotions she contends with on a daily basis.

Now, my Reagan is a well-developed, super intelligent little girl.  She makes me laugh without even trying, and her sweet spirit brings a smile to my face daily. But I have had a difficult time dealing with what has seemed like an emotional roller coaster of sorts. She goes from being an extremely capable and well-meaning big sister to a tantrum-throwing toddler in a matter of minutes. Her “tantrums” mostly have to do with how her clothes fit (everything feels “messed up”) and her frustration with my inability to figure out some of the stories she tries to tell me, in her “bits-and-pieces” 6-year old kind of way. So my main goal has been to help her learn how to deal with her own emotions without stifling or ignoring them. We started the Emotional ABC’s program by watching the DVD. It goes through many of the emotions that children experience in a normal day and how to deal with them while making good choices instead of ones based on their feelings. The first time we watched it, Reagan said immediately afterwards, “I liked that!” Hooray!

The crux of the Emotional ABC’s is a toolbar that explains how to handle difficult situations with the end goal of making the right decision and learning from it. The toolbar has three steps:

A. Pause & Breathe – Children learn to slow themselves down and think about their sensations. Using basic skills children ask themselves, “What am I feeling?”
B. Rewind –  Children review their situation and ask, “Why am I having this feeling?” Replaying an emotionally charged situation can help a child get a new perspective.
C. Play – Children think about, “What is the best choice I can make?” A ‘good choice’ addresses the situation as well as the emotions.

The Emotional ABC’s kit comes with a DVD, a music CD, 5 activity books, a playing card game (similar to Go Fish!) and a magnet featuring the toolbar. This program is designed for children over the age of 4 (although my 3-year old was pretty interested in watching the DVD as well), and has already begun to help us work through some situations that we have had trouble with in the past.  I am excited to see how it continues to help us as we go through the activity books together and learn how to perfect our Emotional ABC’s!

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Emotional ABC’s program :: $85.00