Show the feeling word
Close
Frustrated
Upset because you cannot do something you want to do
Take it further
Emotions matter. Emotions influence our decision making and color our relationships. Research shows that children who develop emotional intelligence skills are kinder, happier, healthier, and more successful. Help your child develop emotional intelligence by playing another round of our feeling words game.
Conversation starters:
Share with your child a recent time when you felt frustrated, and then ask your child to describe a frustrating experience. To get your child thinking deeper:
Start by asking, “How did you show your frustration?” Then probe by asking:
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Did the way you express your frustration affect anyone else around you?
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Do you wish you’d handled your frustration differently? Why or why not?
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Is there something you could have done or said to yourself that might have helped you feel calmer or more patient?
Ask your child to anticipate one situation in the future where they might feel frustrated. Ask them how they might plan ahead so that they can handle the situation in a different way than usual, a way that leads to a better outcome.
Activities:
Make 3–5 facial expressions and ask your child to choose which one best expresses frustration.
Act out a typical situation that you find frustrating with your child. First, play yourself and act out the situation as you usually would. Next time, let your child pretend to be you, and tell your child to handle their frustrated feelings using a different strategy than you usually use. What did you learn from switching roles?
Book lists:
Explore stories about feeling frustrated in our feeling word book lists:
Watch more Do you feel me? videos and learn more about emotions.
Read more about the Feeling Words Curriculum.
Have fun with feeling words with our Mad-Sad-Glad Libs.
Read more about the Feeling Words Curriculum.
Have fun with feeling words with our Mad-Sad-Glad Libs.
Video transcript
“Me and my sister are playing the Wii, on the basketball game, and I tried to shoot. And sometimes I get an air ball or sometimes she blocks my shot or I get it on the thing and I just miss it sometimes. And my sister gets the ball and I try to snatch it, then I fall. Then she gets to slam dunk, or she makes the shot. And I keep trying and trying. No matter how, I can’t. Because I was trying my best, it won’t work.
