Listen your child’s day while applying systems thinking

Dinner time with family!

When you have dinner with your child, ask him/her questions to identify his/her feelings and emotions.

How to Play

Dinner is ready! You are going to have dinner with family members. This game is for you and your child to talk about his/her day. Together, you and your child will be able to know about his/her emotions.

Step 1: Start the Conversation

Start asking question while having dinner with your child.

How was your day?

What was the funniest thing that happened today?

Did you have fun or not?

Ask questions based on 5 emotions.

(Happy, Fear, Sad, Angry, Bored)

Step 2: Emotion over time graphs

During the dinner or after dinner, create a emotion over time graphs based on your child’s answers.

You can either use a piece of paper or napkin to create the emotion over time graphs.

Point out how emotions changed over time.

Pay attention his/her answers.

Step 3: Identify the reasons

Identify the reasons why emotions changed during his school time, play time, or recess time.

Let him/her provide examples.

For instance, He is sad because he/she said, "My friend didn’t share his toys with me" or "I wanted to play soccer and paint a giant board, but the weather was bad".

You could ask, "And then what happened."

"Therefore, I was bored on lunch time."

"However, I was happy this afternoon because of drinking chocolate milk and ate macaroni cheese.". You can ask, "And then what happened? "Even I was happier, I had some fear because of being alone in my room."

Step 4: Solving problems for next time

Ask him/her how to solve these problems next time?

"I should read book in sleeping time to get distracted of fear, and I will take my own toys to share with my friends."

"If I do, my friends will share with me as well."

"I am going to play soccer when the weather is sunny."

Instead of providing answers, let him/her solve emotional problems he/she encountered during the day.