Feeling scale [Free Download]
■Social Skills Training for Children Who Have Difficulty Expressing Emotions with Words
Inspired by the advice I received from a school counselor, I created an "Emotion Scale."
For example, when my child's emotions explode in a tantrum, it’s hard for me to stay calm, but...
I repeatedly say things like, "I know, it’s frustrating, isn’t it?" and once they’ve calmed down a bit, I show them the "Feeling Scale" and ask,
"How bad was it? Was it this level?"
I use phrases like these to guide them.
At first, my kids only pointed to the "Worst feeling" level, but over time, they started pointing to intermediate feelings as well. Eventually, they were even able to say things like "that was so-so" without the scale.
For a child who feels frustrated because he or she cannot express his or her emotions adequately with words, it can help calm them down.
When they feel understood and can view their emotions objectively, their level of anger often decreases.
In this sharing tool in the Japanese version, I simplified the illustrations and levels to make it easier to use.
I believe it’s easier for children to understand when the language used is familiar to them, like "CHO-SAIAKU", or "CHO-Happy", This is a broken expression that is often used among Japanese children to young.
So it might not be the most refined Japanese, but please feel free to use it at home if you find it helpful.
You can print each scale for use or save the images to your smartphone to show and use them while you're out and about.
[free download!]
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📝 ChatGPT's Notes
Communication style: In Japanese culture, it is often considered virtuous to suppress emotions, especially negative ones, and not to express them openly. This is why tools like the "Feeling Scale" are necessary to help children express their feelings appropriately. In English-speaking cultures, it is more common to encourage the direct expression of emotions, which may make this cultural difference harder to understand for foreign children in Japan.
🇯🇵 Original post of this article(Switch to 🇯🇵 mode) Book version of this article：「発達障害＆グレーゾーンの３兄妹を育てる母のどんな子もぐんぐん伸びる１２０の子育て法」 大場美鈴・著（ポプラ社/2017.2）p.249 →Amazon.jp
*No translated version is available of this book.
