How to Handle Your Kid’s Big Emotions [episode 156]
![Header graphic for How to Handle Your Kid's Big Emotions [episode 156]](https://terryndrieling.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Terryn-ep.-156-header.png)
Listen to How to Handle Your Kid’s Big Emotions on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | your platform of choice
After sharing my thoughts in episode 152 about how we toughen kids up, I received several questions about what this actually looks like when our kids are in the middle of big emotions.
In today’s episode, I’m talking about how to handle your kid’s big emotions. What do we say when they’re angry, crying, covering their ears, or emoting loudly? Everything in us wants to tell them to just stop, and it can be so HARD.
While every kid and situation is different, there’s one approach I keep coming back to: validate, stay present, and help them regulate.
Validation doesn’t mean I always agree with what they’re doing. But I CAN notice what they’re feeling, name it, and remind them that their emotions aren’t too big for me.
You can also work with your kids when everyone is calm to find safer ways to move those big emotions through. Every kid is different, so it can be helpful to include them in figuring out what works (regardless of their age).
Sometimes, their big emotions bump against our own wounds, experiences, or unmet needs. Getting curious about those places and learning to give ourselves what we need can make their emotions feel less abrasive + help us show up for our kids in the ways they need!
In this episode, How to Handle Your Kid’s Big Emotions, I cover:
- The importance of validating a child’s emotions + why it doesn’t mean we’re agreeing with them
- Using presence + intentional breathing to help kids co-regulate
- Holding boundaries while still acknowledging big emotions
- Finding safe, less-destructive ways to move anger through the body
- Including our kids in conversations about what helps them feel supported
- Getting curious about WHY our kids’ emotions can trigger us
- Meeting our own needs so we can better show up for theirs
Resources & Links:
- Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy
- Learn more about Balance Point
- Schedule a free consult and see if 1:1 Good Movement Guidance is right for you – mention “castpod” when you book to receive 10% off!
- Check out my merch shop
- Join the waitlist for the Good Movement Collective
- Good Movement music by: Aaron Espe
- Podcast produced by: Jill Carr Podcasting
Connect with Terryn:
- Follow on Instagram @terryn.drieling
- Check out my website
- Send me an email at terryn@terryndrieling.com
Related Episodes:
- Episode 42: What I Would Do Differently in Parenting if I Had It to Do Over Again
- Episode 83: Let Them (See You Feel): Raising Resilient Kids by Being Real in Front of Them
- Episode 152: How We Really Toughen Kids Up
More about the Good Movement Draws Good Movement podcast:
In stockmanship (the art and science of handling cattle in a safe, effective, low-stress manner), we have this phrase . . . good movement draws good movement.
It’s this thing that happens when we ask a small group of cattle, maybe a cow or a pair, to move out in a certain direction, and their movement draws the whole herd into moving in the same direction.
Good movement happens when we approach the cattle with a positive attitude, read and really listen to what they’re telling us, and communicate accordingly.
We don’t approach the aware, flighty cattle the same as we do the tame, docile cattle. We adjust ourselves, our energy, and our approach, and we communicate with each other differently.
These adjustments help us effectively draw good movement from each, which then draws good movement from the herd. But it starts with us.
The same is true for humans. Good movement starts with us.
Welcome to Good Movement Draws Good Movement, the podcast where farmers, ranchers, and rural folks can grow relationally through awareness, understanding, and effective communication.
Hey, it’s me – T. I’m your host, and I, along with my guests, will be covering topics related to drawing good movement – things like self and social awareness, brain science, positive psychology, extending grace, and so much more.
We’ll share tools that can help you understand why you are the way you are, why others are the way they are, and how you can use that to step out of self-told lies with grace and compassion to draw good movement in conversations, relationships, and life in rural America.
Tune in every Tuesday, and make sure to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode! Let’s go draw good movement!
