Emotions: Some are silent, some are loud—but you can’t hold them in
Explaining high-level topics to kids can be a little tricky. Especially when they’re younger, helping them grasp a nebulous topic like emotions can just be tough—unless you’re this dad, who has come up with the perfect analogy: farts.
“Emotions are like farts,” Locke Haman explains in a hilarious video that your kids are certain to remember, because, you know, farts. “This is the best way I’ve heard to explain emotions to my kids. It’s funny, so it’s memorable, and it’s also true. Here it is.”
He then launches into the explanation: “Emotions are like farts. It hurts when you hold them in. Some can clear the room. And sometimes they’re silent, and if you let them out too aggressively, sometimes you can make a mess. But whatever form they take, they’re natural, and you need to let them out.”
Is it really that simple? Well, according to Haman, yes. And actually, if you have kids of a certain age—you know, the age where they have trouble grasping a concept like emotions but will latch onto anything that has to do with flatulence and never let go—you know that yes, this will actually work unsettlingly well.
In the video’s caption, Haman writes a little more about his own journey to learn to help his kids understand—and cope with—their big feelings.
“I’ve struggled as a parent to let my kids feel their emotions. Usually, I’d try to fix whatever ‘problem’ caused it, and if that didn’t work, I’d resort to not-too-diplomatically informing them that they had nothing to be upset about,” he wrote. “My inability as a father to handle my kids’ emotions was about me, not them. When I’m able to let them express their emotions, I give them a space to process much quicker than shutting them down.”
So there you have it. Emotional maturity—with a healthy dose of fart jokes. Because life is all about balance.
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