Self-awareness is a crucial skill, not only for children but also for adults. It involves being attuned to one’s own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
Parents and caregivers play a vital role in fostering self-awareness in children. By helping them recognize their strengths and challenges, children can better understand what supports their growth and well-being. Additionally, guiding children to realize that their self-perception may differ from how others perceive them contributes to increased self-awareness.
Practicing Self-Awareness Skills at Home
We use Words to Live By to help kids learn the fundamental skills of social emotional learning. Words to Live By breaks down the competency into two lessons:
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I love and accept who I am on the inside: identify, understand, and value both your strengths and weaknesses
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Identify, Understand, and Value Both Strengths and Weaknesses
Highlight the strengths of different family members and encourage them to teach their skills to others.
For example, if Emma’s strength is art, Friday nights could be dedicated to art activities led by Emma. She can teach her family members drawing techniques, how to use different art materials, and even organize a mini art exhibition at home to display everyone’s creations.
Tip #2: Identify Weaknesses and Set Goals
Try setting weekly goals to improve upon a weak area and hold each other accountable to reach those goals.
For example, a family might set weekly goals together, such as spending time together without distractions or effectively organizing and completing chores. They can hold each other accountable with mid-week check-ins, while tracking progress on a shared planner and celebrating achievements on the weekends.
Tip #3: Learn New Emotions
Incorporate new or rarely used emotion words into conversations and look for opportunities to point out the emotions of others.
Try using various forms of media like books, TV shows, music, and movies to explore emotions.
Books: Read stories that depict a wide range of emotions and discuss how the characters are feeling and why.
TV Shows/Movies: While watching TV shows or movies, pause at key emotional moments and talk about the characters’ feelings. Discuss how different characters may perceive the same situation differently based on their emotions.
Music: Listening to music with expressive lyrics can be a great way to introduce and discuss emotions. Talk about how the music makes you feel and what emotions the lyrics convey.
Tip #4: Identify Feelings
Conduct regular emotional check-ins, model naming your own emotions, and have discussions about what’s going on in the family and how it makes everyone feel.
Start by modeling how to name emotions. For example, you could say, “This week, I felt proud when I finished a big project at work, but I also felt a bit overwhelmed because of all the deadlines.” This sets the tone for open and honest sharing. Then, encourage others to share something they felt that week. After everyone has shared, discuss how these emotions relate to family dynamics.
