Parenting Focused course

Helping Children Manage Emotions

Practical, calm ways to help your child name, understand and cope with big feelings, from toddler tantrums to pre-teen worries

  • 2 hoursself-paced
  • 6modules
  • 5interactive tools
  • Certificatewhen you pass

What you will be able to do

  • explain why children have big feelings and what is typical at different ages.
  • help your child name feelings using a feelings chart and body clues.
  • use the five steps of emotion coaching, including setting kind, firm limits on behaviour.
  • stay calmer yourself in difficult moments and help your child calm down.
  • set up a calm-down corner and teach two or three calming skills.
  • use a daily mood tracker to spot patterns and triggers.
  • recognise signs that a child may need extra support and know who to contact in the UK.

About this course

Every child has big feelings. Anger, worry, sadness and frustration are a normal part of growing up, but they can be hard to live with, for the child and for you. This course gives you a clear, everyday approach to helping children aged roughly 2 to 12 recognise their feelings, put them into words and learn ways to calm down.

You will learn emotion coaching, a well-known approach used by many UK schools and family services, and practise it with ready-made scripts for common moments. You will set up a calm-down corner, teach simple calming skills, and use a daily mood tracker to spot what sets off big feelings in your family.

This is parenting education, not therapy or diagnosis. It also explains the signs that mean a child may need more support, and who to contact, such as your GP, health visitor, school nurse or the school's pastoral team, and charities such as YoungMinds and Childline.

Course modules

6 modules
  1. 1Understanding big feelings

    Why children have big feelings, what is typical at different ages, and the everyday triggers that make meltdowns more likely.

    • All feelings are allowed, not all behaviour
    • What is typical at different ages
    • Why meltdowns happen: the usual triggers

    Daily Mood Tracker

  2. 2Naming feelings

    How to build your child's feelings vocabulary, use a feelings chart and body clues, and talk about emotions through stories, play and everyday moments.

    • Building a feelings vocabulary
    • Using a feelings chart and body clues
    • Stories, play and everyday chats

    Feelings Chart for Children

  3. 3Emotion coaching

    The five steps of emotion coaching, how to show empathy while still setting firm limits, and ready-made scripts for common moments.

    • What emotion coaching is
    • Empathy with limits: validating without giving in
    • Scripts for everyday moments

    Emotion Coaching Scripts

  4. 4Calming down together

    How your own calm helps your child calm down, how to set up a calm-down corner that is not a punishment, and simple calming skills children can learn.

    • Your calm first: helping your child settle
    • Setting up a calm-down corner
    • Calming tools children can learn

    Calm-Down Corner ChecklistBalloon Breathing for Parent and ChildFeelings Chart for Children

  5. 5Everyday foundations

    How sleep, food, activity, routines and screen time affect children's moods, and how to support children through big changes.

    • Sleep, food and movement
    • Routines, transitions and screens
    • Helping children through big changes

    Daily Mood TrackerEmotion Coaching Scripts

  6. 6Patterns, repair and getting support

    Use your mood tracker to spot patterns, repair things after a difficult moment, look after yourself, and know when and where to get extra help.

    • Spotting patterns with a mood tracker
    • Repair, and looking after yourself
    • When to get extra help

    Daily Mood TrackerEmotion Coaching Scripts

Tools included

Saved to your account, downloadable as PDF
  • CardsFeelings Chart for ChildrenPrintable feelings cards that help children name what they feel, notice body clues and choose something that helps.
  • CheckerCalm-Down Corner ChecklistCheck you have set up a calm-down corner that your child will actually use, and that it is a place of support, not punishment.
  • CardsEmotion Coaching ScriptsReady-to-use words for common big-feeling moments, following the five steps of emotion coaching.
  • TrackerDaily Mood TrackerRecord your child's mood, big-feeling moments, triggers and what helped each day for 4 weeks, to spot patterns.
  • Guided audioBalloon Breathing for Parent and ChildA short guided calming script to listen to together, to practise slow breathing when you are both calm so you can use it in harder moments.

Who this course is for

  • Parents and carers of children aged roughly 2 to 12
  • Families dealing with frequent tantrums, angry outbursts or worries
  • Grandparents, step-parents and other relatives who care for children
  • Parents who want to respond differently from how they were raised
  • Anyone who wants calmer days at home

Check with a health professional first if

  • If you are worried about your child's development, behaviour or mental health, talk to your GP, health visitor (under-5s) or school nurse. This course can be used alongside their advice but does not replace it.
  • If your child already has support from children's mental health services, a paediatrician or a special educational needs team, keep following their plan and share what you learn here with them.
  • If you are worried that a child is being harmed or is at risk of harming themselves or others, do not wait for this course. Use the 'When to get help' section straight away.

Your certificate

Answer at least 7 of the 10 final questions correctly and your certificate is ready to download straight away, with your name, the course and a verification ID anyone can check.

A certificate of completion shows you finished a general education course. It is not a professional qualification.

Certificate of completion

Your name

Helping Children Manage Emotions, 6 modules, completed 6 October 2026

Dr Aqsa Mukhtiar, PhD in Nutrition
Course author
ID MNC-4K7Q-2Z9P
Verify at mynutricare.co.uk

Your course author

Dr Aqsa MukhtiarPhD in Nutrition

  • Course author
  • Nutrition content reviewer
  • 6 years of experience

Dr Aqsa Mukhtiar holds a PhD in Nutrition and has six years of experience in nutrition, healthy eating, weight management and maternal nutrition. She writes MyNutriCare courses and reviews their nutrition content.

About Dr Aqsa Mukhtiar

Questions about this course

What age is this course for?

It is written for parents and carers of children aged roughly 2 to 12, with tips for each age. The same ideas also work with teenagers, adapted to their age.

Is emotion coaching just letting children do what they want?

No. Emotion coaching accepts the feeling but sets clear, firm limits on behaviour. Module 3 shows how to combine empathy with limits.

Can this course help if my child has autism or ADHD?

The everyday skills in this course can be useful for many children, but it is not a treatment for any condition. If your child has, or you think they may have, additional needs, talk to your GP, health visitor or school SENCo about specialist support and share what you learn here with them.

When should I worry about my child's feelings?

Module 6 lists the signs that mean it is time to talk to someone, such as low or anxious moods most days for more than a couple of weeks, or feelings stopping everyday life. If you are ever worried about your child's safety, use the urgent help section straight away.

What do I get with this course?

6 modules with 18 short lessons (about 2 hours in total) and 5 interactive tools, including the Feelings Chart for Children, Calm-Down Corner Checklist and Emotion Coaching Scripts. Your tool results save to My Progress. A 10-question final check ends the course; score 7 or more for your certificate. Written by Dr Aqsa Mukhtiar, PhD in Nutrition.