emotional awareness
One Everyday activity for your child's emotional awareness
Play the five-minute 'Feelings Mirror' game: make and name clear emotion faces with your child, take turns copying and guessing, then link the feeling to real moments in the day. Naming emotions builds the vocabulary children need to recognise and manage them.
Naming a feeling is the first step to managing it — and you can teach that skill at the kitchen table, tonight.
In short
One lovely Everyday Therapy activity is the Feelings Mirror game: sit face-to-face with your child, make a clear emotion face (happy, sad, angry, surprised), and name it together — "This is my happy face!" Then take turns copying and guessing. Just five minutes a day helps a 3–7 year old connect what they feel inside to a word they can use, which is the foundation of emotional awareness.How to do the Feelings Mirror
1. Choose a calm moment — after a meal or before a story, not mid-meltdown. 2. Make one big, clear face and name it warmly: "Look, I'm surprised! My eyes are wide!" 3. Invite your child to copy you in a mirror, or mirror each other. Cheer the effort, not the perfection. 4. Turn it into a guessing game — "Can you guess my feeling?" — then swap so they make the face. 5. Link it to real life later in the day: "You're smiling — are you feeling happy?"Keep it light and playful. Four feelings is plenty to begin; add new ones slowly over weeks.
The science
Emotional awareness grows through emotion labelling — when feelings are named, the child builds a vocabulary for the inner states they experience. Research in child development shows that caregivers who name and talk about emotions help children regulate them better and respond more calmly to frustration. Mirroring and turn-taking also build the shared attention and back-and-forth that underpin social-emotional growth.The Pinnacle way
A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care — this activity is gentle home support, not a test. Our behaviour therapy team weaves emotion-naming into structured play, and you can learn how progress is measured against your child's own baseline through the AbilityScore®.Trusted sources
Guided by WHO Nurturing Care guidance on responsive caregiving, the American Academy of Pediatrics' healthychildren.org on social-emotional development, and CDC "Learn the Signs. Act Early." milestones for emotional skills.Next step — try the Feelings Mirror tonight for five minutes, and if you'd like a tailored emotional-awareness plan, message the Pinnacle team on WhatsApp: +91 91001 81181.
This is general information, not a diagnosis — a clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre under qualified clinician care.
What to watch
Notice whether your child can name at least a few basic feelings (happy, sad, angry) by around age 4–5 and link them to situations. If naming or showing emotions stays very limited across home and play by age 5, mention it at a developmental check.
Try this at home
Name feelings out loud during your own day — 'I'm a bit frustrated this jar won't open' — so your child hears emotions named naturally, not only during games.
Trusted sources
Developed by SETU Consortium · Pinnacle Blooms Network · Last reviewed 2026-06-10 · reviewed every 540 days
This is general information, not a diagnosis. A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care.
Frequently asked
What age is the Feelings Mirror game best for?
It works beautifully for children aged about 3 to 7. Younger children enjoy copying faces; older ones can guess feelings and talk about when they felt that way. Keep it short and playful at any age.
How often should we play it?
Just five minutes a day, on most days, is enough. Little and often works far better than one long session. Fold it into a calm part of your routine, like after dinner.
What if my child won't join in?
That's fine — keep it pressure-free. Play it yourself with exaggerated faces and let them watch. Many children join in once it feels fun and safe. Never turn it into a task.