I have often been amazed at how emotionally aware Eli is with his feelings. Even in my 30's I have many feelings which usually present themselves as anger. I struggle name the actual emotion to what I am feeling. Not Eli, since he has been able to talk well, probably about 2 years old, he has been able to express his actual feelings in words within minutes of acting out or even without action out prior.
Today Eli says: "I am feeling selfish Mom."
(How cool is that, he can name the actual emotion instead of just saying I am mad. He was happily playing when he said this and there was no assistance from me to name his emotion.)
Why?: "Because I don't want to share my new bouncy ball tomorrow with our friends."
His final thought could use some training. He decided he better just find a way to not let his friends play with the ball. He mentioned hiding it or playing with it in their presence and flat out telling them they can't use his ball.
3 comments:
wow - I'm glad you've been able to record some of these conversations between you and Eli...they will be even more of a treasure years from now when he is a man. Thanks for focusing me on the wonder of Eli..!
I'm so glad to see this boy who thinks so deeply about so many things express such a fine tuned awareness of his feelings...such an important indicator of emotional intelligence and mental health...:-) kudos to you and Kyle for taking the time to really listen and encourage. I learn so much from you two.
I wish I could be as 'in tune with thyself' as he is! or at least as honest in confessing it!
This is a beautiful post! I can hear Eli now saying those words.
I, too, often react to multiple emotions with fear/anger. To hear him openly state what he was experiencing and feeling, is an inspiration!
Love you all very much! Amy
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