Life with a five-year-old can be tough, especially when it comes to teaching an assertive little miss about handling negative emotions. I was so excited to come across this journal and I want to tell you from the start that it did not disappoint. As a parent, it can be difficult to guide our kids through the journey of understanding their own emotions, so having such a useful tool can make all the difference in the world.
My opinion:
Positive Notey is a cool journal, one that can guide kids – as the author wonderfully puts it – through tough and negative emotions. It offers both healthy and creative ways for coping with difficult emotions, helping both parents and kids understand their emotional health better. I loved how the author described intense emotions, such as anger, guiding kids in the right direction. I talked to my daughter about situations when she felt angry or frustrated, using the journal to show her the best way she should express herself.
One of the things I liked the most about the journal regarded the concept of calmness, obviously as the antithesis to anger. The author has cleverly created calm zones, which kids can refer to when they are feeling angry or frustrated. She has introduced plenty of tips to help them cope with difficult emotions and I think these are quite easy to follow. She teaches kids about physical exercise and how it can be one of the best ways to channel negative emotions in the right direction. She also talks about deep breathing, music, and sensory exploration, three of the most useful tools for releasing negative feelings.
My daughter is still learning to manage her negative emotions, so this journal made a genuine difference in our lives. The author offered a clear path towards accepting difficult feelings, with the pent-up energy being channeled as it should. She teaches kids to look at the situations in which they felt negative emotions, and how they should rely on the calm zones to manage their anger or frustration. What a great tool to show kids that we should never repress complicated feelings, but rather go through them in a healthy manner.
Verdict:
This is an absolutely useful tool to have! While teaching my daughter about the best ways to manage her negative emotions, I was reminded of how we are all human and we should go easy on ourselves. Getting creative with anger sounds like a great lesson to learn, no matter how old you are. I was already a fan of Rebecca, as she has written some awesome books, and the journal was much appreciated in our home. Thank you, Positive Notey!
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