Imagine International Preschool Blog

Helping Toddlers Navigate Their Emotions

Toddlers are a whirlwind of emotions—joyful giggles one moment, tearful tantrums the next. At this developmental stage, children are beginning to experience a wide range of feelings but often lack the language and self-regulation skills to express them appropriately. Understanding and supporting toddlers in expressing their emotions is crucial for their social and emotional development.

Understanding Toddler Emotions

Between ages 1 and 3, toddlers start to recognize and respond to their own emotions and those of others. However, their vocabulary is still limited, making it challenging for them to articulate feelings like frustration, excitement, or disappointment. This often leads to expressive behaviors such as crying, screaming, or physical outbursts.

Research indicates that as children grow, their use of emotion words increases, and their understanding of emotions becomes more nuanced. A study examining children's emotion vocabulary found that older children produced more emotion words and their usage patterns converged with adult usage over time. (Source)

Strategies to Support Emotional Expression

1. Expand Emotion Vocabulary

Introducing toddlers to a variety of emotion words helps them label and understand their feelings. Using picture books, storytelling, and daily conversations to discuss emotions can enrich their emotional vocabulary. For example, saying, "I see you're feeling frustrated because the block tower fell," validates their experience and provides language to express it.

2. Model Emotional Expression

Children learn by observing adults. Demonstrating healthy ways to express emotions—such as saying, "I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I need a short break"—teaches toddlers that it's okay to have feelings and shows them constructive ways to deal with them.

3. Use Visual Aids

Emotion charts with faces depicting different feelings can help toddlers identify and communicate their emotions. Encouraging them to point to the face that matches their current feeling can be an effective non-verbal communication tool.

4. Encourage Creative Expression

Art, music, and pretend play offer toddlers alternative avenues to express their emotions. Drawing a picture of a happy or sad face, singing a song, or role-playing scenarios can help them process and articulate their feelings in a safe and engaging way.

5. Practice Co-Regulation

Co-regulation involves caregivers helping children manage their emotions through supportive interactions. This includes comforting touch, soothing words, and guiding them through calming techniques. Over time, these practices help toddlers develop self-regulation skills.

Navigating Challenging Emotions

Tantrums and emotional outbursts are common in toddlerhood. Approaching these moments with empathy and patience is key.

Stay Calm: Maintaining a composed demeanor helps de-escalate the situation and provides a model for self-control.
Acknowledge Feelings: Validating the child's emotions by saying, "I see you're upset because you can't have the toy," shows understanding and helps them feel heard.
Set Clear Boundaries: While acknowledging feelings, it's important to set limits on unacceptable behaviors, such as hitting or throwing objects.
Offer Alternatives: Providing acceptable ways to express anger or frustration, like squeezing a stress ball or using words to describe feelings, teaches constructive coping mechanisms.

Building Emotional Intelligence

Fostering emotional intelligence in toddlers lays the foundation for healthy relationships and coping skills later in life. By consistently supporting their emotional development through language, modeling, and empathetic interactions, caregivers can help toddlers navigate their feelings effectively.

Remember, every child is unique, and developing emotional expression skills is a gradual process. With patience, understanding, and consistent support, toddlers can learn to express their emotions in healthy and constructive ways.

Flowers

🌼 Spring Blossoms & Little Explorers: Learning Through Flowers in Kanagawa

As winter says goodbye and the air turns soft and warm, something magical happens across Kanagawa—flowers begin to bloom. From the edges of local parks to quiet country paths, nature starts painting with color. And for children, it’s a perfect time to explore, imagine, and learn.

Spring isn’t just a season—it’s a living classroom, and wildflowers are some of the best teachers.

🌸 Wild, Not Planted: Respecting Nature’s Garden

Before we dive in, it’s important to teach children this golden rule:
🧡 Look, smell, admire—and only pick wildflowers.
Planted flowers, like those in public gardens or flower beds, are for everyone to enjoy and are often cared for by someone. But wildflowers, like those growing freely in open fields, ditches, or trails, offer a gentle opportunity for exploration.

Luckily, Kanagawa is full of lovely native wildflowers that are perfect for little nature detectives.

🌼 Meet Some Friendly Flowers of Kanagawa

Here are just a few wildflowers you might spot in springtime:

Nanohana (菜の花 / Rapeseed Blossoms) – These cheerful yellow flowers grow in clusters and often bloom in March. You might find whole fields filled with them!
Sumire (スミレ / Violet) – Tiny and often hiding in grass, violets are a favorite to spot. Their purple petals are delicate and fun to sketch.
Shirotsumekusa (シロツメクサ / White Clover) – These round white puffball flowers grow low to the ground and often bring bees and butterflies.
Tanpopo (タンポポ / Dandelion) – A childhood classic! First bright yellow, then a fluffy white wish-maker.
Tsutsuji (ツツジ / Azalea) – Bursting with bright pinks, reds, and purples, Tsutsuji are hard to miss in April and May. While many azaleas are planted in gardens and parks, you can also find wild varieties growing along hillsides and wooded areas in Kanagawa. Their trumpet-shaped petals and bushy leaves make them fun to spot—and they often attract buzzing bees and fluttering butterflies.

🧺 Bring a small basket, notebook, and a magnifying glass for your walk—you’ll be amazed at what your child notices.

🎨 Learning and Creating with Flowers

Once you’ve explored and admired the blooms, there are so many gentle, creative ways to bring flowers into play and learning:

🖍️ 1. Flower Sketching or Painting

Sit in the grass with crayons, markers, or watercolors and invite your child to draw what they see. Talk about the petals, stems, and leaves. Use simple prompts like:
“Is it tall or short?” “What shape are the petals?”

🧠 What they learn: Observation, color mixing, and nature vocabulary.

📘 2. Make a Wildflower Journal

Press the flowers between paper and heavy books for a few days, then glue them into a small notebook. You can help your child write the name of the flower (in English and Japanese!), where they found it, and how it made them feel.

🧠 What they learn: Categorizing, writing skills, and mindfulness.

🎭 3. Create Flower People or Pets

With collected petals, leaves, and sticks, help your child design a flower creature—maybe a “petal puppy” or a “leaf dragon.” Use tape or glue on paper and let the imagination bloom.

🧠 What they learn: Storytelling, spatial skills, and creative design.

🖼️ 4. Nature Mandalas

Using rocks, twigs, and flower pieces, show your child how to create a circular pattern (like a flower or sunburst) on the ground. Mandalas are calming and beautiful ways to practice focus and design.

🧠 What they learn: Patterns, symmetry, and mindfulness.

🔬 Flower Science: Color-Changing Petals

One of the favorite springtime experiments at Imagine is watching white flowers slowly change color! This simple, indoor activity teaches children how plants drink water—and brings a sense of wonder as color creeps into the petals over time.

We use both white wildflowers (like clover or daisies, picked responsibly) and store-bought blooms like carnations, daisies, or chrysanthemums. These flowers react well and show the changes clearly.

🌈 What You’ll Need:

Fresh white flowers (wild or store-bought)
Food coloring
Cups or jars
Water
Scissors (to trim stems)

🧪 How We Do It at Imagine:

We explore this experiment as a group, filling cups with water and adding food coloring. Some flowers go into single colors, while others have their stems split in half, each side placed in a different color. The split-stem results always surprise the children—it looks like nature’s own magic trick!

Before starting, children draw their predictions by coloring in a flower to show what they think will happen. Will it be red? Purple? Half-and-half? These drawings spark curiosity and discussion.

The flowers stay inside the classroom, and we check them together after lunch and the next morning. Watching the colors climb into the petals is exciting, calming, and truly memorable.

🧠 What children learn:

Capillary action (how plants absorb water)
Observation and prediction
That science can be colorful and full of surprises!

💡 Gentle Reminders for Flower Explorers

Don’t pick too many flowers—leave enough for the bees and butterflies.
Always stay on the path in natural areas.
If unsure, help your child gently admire with their eyes or take a photo instead.
Bring hand wipes or sanitizer—some plants can be sticky or attract bugs!

🌞 The Magic of Spring

When children spend time with flowers—touching, naming, drawing, and imagining—they begin to build a lifelong relationship with nature. And in Kanagawa, spring offers endless chances to slow down, look closer, and smile at the little things.

So next time the sun is shining and the breeze smells like blossoms, grab a hat, a basket, and your child’s hand. The wildflowers are waiting.

Less Stress, More Smiles: The Power of a Consistent Morning Routine

Establishing a consistent morning routine for young children aged 1 to 6 can significantly enhance their emotional well-being, cognitive development, and overall behavior. Research indicates that structured routines provide children with a sense of security and predictability, which are crucial for their development.

🧠 The Importance of Morning Routines

A study led by Dr. Emily Merz at Colorado State University found that children with consistent daily routines, including regular wake-up times and morning activities, exhibited more developed brain structures in areas related to language, sensory perception, and emotional processing. These routines were also linked to longer sleep durations, which are essential for cognitive and emotional development. Furthermore, consistent routines have been associated with better sleep outcomes in young children, including earlier bedtimes, shorter time to fall asleep, and fewer night awakenings. This underscores the importance of maintaining a structured schedule not just in the evening but throughout the day, starting with the morning.

☀️ Crafting an Effective Morning Routine

Here are some practical tips to help you establish a morning routine that sets a positive tone for the day:

1. Consistent Wake-Up Times

Aim to wake your child up at the same time each day, even on weekends. This consistency helps regulate their internal clock, making mornings more predictable and reducing resistance.

2. Use Visual Schedules

Children, especially younger ones, benefit from visual cues. Create a simple chart with pictures depicting each step of the morning routine—such as brushing teeth, getting dressed, and eating breakfast. This visual aid can help them understand and follow their routine independently.

3. Incorporate Choices

Allowing children to make small choices, like selecting between two outfits or choosing their breakfast, can give them a sense of control and reduce power struggles.

4. Prepare the Night Before

To ease the morning rush, prepare as much as possible the night before. Lay out clothes, pack lunches, and ensure backpacks are ready. This preparation can make mornings smoother and less stressful.

5. Positive Start

Begin the day with a positive interaction, such as a hug, a favorite song, or a few minutes of play. This can set a cheerful tone for the day and make transitions easier.

🎵 Making Mornings Enjoyable

Transform routine tasks into fun activities. For instance, play upbeat music during breakfast or turn getting dressed into a gam. Engaging children in this way can make them more cooperative and enthusiastic about the morning routine.

🧩 Tailoring Routines to Individual Need

Every child is unique, and it's essential to adapt routines to fit their specific needs. For children with sensory needs, consider using soft clothing and minimizing loud noises in the morning. For those who struggle with transitions, provide gentle warnings before moving on to the next activity.

🌈 Conclusion

Implementing a consistent and enjoyable morning routine can have profound benefits for young children. It not only fosters independence and reduces stress but also supports their cognitive and emotional development. By incorporating structure, choice, and positivity into your mornings, you're setting the stage for a successful day ahead.

Note: This article is based on research findings and expert recommendations. For personalized advice, consult with a pediatrician or child development specialist.

Notice about Toddler Morning Program

From April 2019, the Toddler Morning Program will only be available for children aged 18 months-27 months (2 years 3 months).

Thank you for your understanding.

Contact