“Why are you crying?”

“Because I said no!”

“Stop yelling!”

“Calm down!”

If you've ever found yourself in the middle of one of these moments, you're not alone.

Children can experience emotions that seem much bigger than the situation—a meltdown over the wrong-colored cup, tears after losing a game, anger because a sibling touched their things, or anxiety about something that seems small to an adult.

And when those big feelings arrive, parents can have some big feelings of their own.

We may feel frustrated, overwhelmed, embarrassed, or completely unsure about what to do next.

But here's something worth remembering: our kids aren't born knowing how to manage their emotions.

Learning what they're feeling, putting those feelings into words, and figuring out what to do with them are skills that develop over time. Our role isn't to make every uncomfortable emotion disappear. It's to help our children understand their feelings and learn healthy ways to respond to them.

The goal isn't...