The adult is aware of and 'in control' of their own emotional response in the situation. The adult's emotional 'self-control' enables them to take the perspective of the child and empathise with them. The adult is able remind or teach the child of the behavioural expectations in the context in a socially engaged manner. This enables the child to listen and learn as they are feeling safe and secure rather than fear or shame. Adult 'control' in relation to children and young

Ali Brooks is The Learning and Development Manager for the DEN Nursery group.  She is a teacher with 20 years experience, is familiar with Emotion Coaching and has consciously used aspects of it in her practice.  Following recent training in Emotion Coaching, Ali was aware that she had not used all aspects of Emotion Coaching in a single interaction.  The following is a description by Ali of one the first times she had used all the steps of Emotion Coaching in communicating w

Everybody needs empathy! We're often asked if Emotion Coaching is just for young children. This description of a family gathering is an example of how Emotion Coaching is a compassionate relational approach for humans of all ages. It's a bustling family lunch. Lots to be organised (dishes to be heated, table to be set...) and lots of interpersonal dynamics in play. Let's start with Grandma Linda. Her hearing is declining so she speaks loudly and is often overwhelmed by the ge

AN ANONYMISED REFLECTIVE LOG FROM AN EC UK PRACTITIONER TRAINER THE SITUATION Bianca was collecting her three-year-old niece, Olivia, from the nursery. As Bianca entered the playroom, Olivia looked up from stacking blocks and made eye contact with her aunt. Bianca waved to her, but Olivia immediately started to cry, shouting: “No! Gran Gran!” She ran towards the miniature house in the corner, and refused to come out. One staff member followed her to the house, and attempted t

We all know what it's like when we're upset about something and some one tries to help by telling us what they think we should do. We might feel annoyed, frustrated, want to get away from that person or just wish they would stop talking. It's no different for our children........ A mismatch or mis-attunement can occur when a child is distressed by something and we as a relatively calm observer to the situation just 'know what would make the situation better for the child'.

Evie is a 4 year old girl who has been in care since the age of 2.  She has been with her third and current foster family for 4 months.  Rachel an emergency and respite foster carer received a call mid-week.  Could she possibly look after Evie over the weekend? Evie was due to be released from hospital following a short stay for cold related respiratory difficulties.  Evie’s foster carer was unable to pick her up from hospital as the family car had been damaged in a car accid

When underlying emotions are validated, aggressive behaviour addressed.

AN ANONYMISED REFLECTIVE LOG FROM AN EC UK PRACTITIONER TRAINER: ‘Chiara’ aged 10 was wandering the school corridors and refusing to...

Emotion Coaching’s impact on young children with SEND   A head of a specialist SEND nursery in the West Midlands reports upon the impact...

Sometimes the signs of safety that you use in an attempt to help soothe and calm a child's stress response and nervous system doesn't...

A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE OF EMOTION COACHING IN ACTION This example was shared by two teaching assistants 'Nina' and 'Tamara' during one of ...

Please be advised that this article contains reference to suicide. Much of our focus is on encouraging Emotion Coaching as a style of...

LOUISE GILBERT, ECUK CO-FOUNDER, DESCRIBES HER RECENT VISITS TO TURKEY IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKES In June, I was...

When public speaking causes distress... This was a very public demonstration of Emotion Coaching in action that occurred at a primary...

A 10 year old child 'Max', with significant social and communication needs associated with his autism spectrum diagnosis, was pacing the...

An ECUK Practitioner Trainer, 'Tamra', shared a reflection on how her use of Emotion Coaching with a pupil was able to support the pupil...

This is a moving reflection on how to connect with children who don't use words to communicate. 'Surya' was completing an Educational...

This EC practitioner shares a very honest reflection about a missed opportunity to Emotion Coach when in a hurry. 'Ebony' had been stuck...

An ECUK practitioner trainer shares an example of how Emotion Coaching can support a young child to calm and use their social engagement...

These observations came from a reflective log that was recently shared with us. The names have been changed for the purpose of this blog....