You can use stuffed animals to mirror your child’s feelings and talk about how they feel. During times when your child is emotional but hasn’t verbalized their needs, you can use one of their stuffed animals to help draw out their feelings through conversation.

For example, if your child is feeling sad and uncomfortable in sharing about their feelings, you might consider using a playful prop, like your child’s favourite stuffie (e.g., teddy bear) to talk about how they are feeling. You can take your best guess as to what emotion your child is experiencing and try to mirror that feeling with the teddy bear.

Then have the teddy bear ask your child how they are feeling and whether they are feeling sad too. Many times, children will respond directly to a teddy bear or other stuffed animal, as the opportunity to gain insight into how your child is feeling may be a challenge without the help and familiarity of your child’s favourite plush animal.