Emotions iceberg image2/14/2024 ![]() ![]() These root causes develop core beliefs which affect a child’s emotions and coping behaviours. The core issues are the root causes of the challenges that a child is experiencing. If our responses activates their ‘threat’ mode then this can accelerate the reactions. It should be noted, that the way we react and respond to a child who is being triggered can also have a dramatic impact on whether a coping behaviour is activated. In addition, in some situations a child’s coping behaviour may not be triggered, such as if they felt particularly safe or were in a predictable environment, whilst in others they may react more quickly or severely. Triggers can get bigger and smaller, and may attach to other issues which affect the child. It is important to remember, that our reactions to things do not remain fixed. These can be a feeling of threat, of negative feedback, of overwhelm, stress or sensory overload which the child responds with their coping behaviour. The trigger comes from a root cause being affected in some way, to which the child emotionally responds. EmotionĮmotions are the automatic response that the child feels in response to the triggering event. Children, fundamentally, want to be protected, and drawing people to them, even if it is through negative feedback, fulfils this need, even if it is to a maladaptive reaction.Įven if a child is now in a situation where they have access to healthier responses, they will require support to change the patterns of behaviours that they have learnt. Coping behaviours all aim, on some level, to develop a reaction, which derives attention and therefore connection. This might include: yelling, shouting, hitting, kicking, hiding, lying, eating, stealing, running, swearing, self-harming, tic behaviours, hair pulling, nail biting….Īt some point, these coping behaviours were useful to a child, they would have worked in some situations and have been stored as a useful response, even if they are no longer helping them. What happens?Ĭoping behaviours are the way that a child responds to stress/fear or threat. This influences the coping behaviours that children develop to cope with difficult emotions. ![]() If a child has experienced high levels of stress or adversity in their childhood, their learnt experiences and reactions to situations may be different to a child who has grown up with a sense of safety and security. Past experiences, including abuse, neglect, abandonment. ![]() So, what contributes to a child’s reactions?Ĭhildren’s responses to situations can be influenced by the environment that they have both been raised in, and their daily routines and experiences. It encourages us to have more empathy and compassion with a situation that a child is navigating.įeeling come from an inner need in the child which need to be fulfilled. The iceberg analogy gives us an opportunity to consider all the contributing factors which may be affecting a child’s behaviour and responses to situations. However, from my experiences as both a teacher and a therapist, this can unintentionally be forgotten when it comes to managing and responding to children’s behaviour. We frequently discuss that behaviour can be likened an iceberg.
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