Emotional Responsiveness Paper -- self-regulation, emotional awareness

â€Å"You’re mean†, I said to my mother with tears rolling down my face, head down and arms folded, while sitting on my bed. My mother walked over to me and sat on my bed. She placed her hand on my leg and said, â€Å"Do you really think I’m mean if so can you express why?† I responded with my head still down, â€Å"No.† My mother raised my head and said, â€Å"Regina, I just want you to understand that if I say no to something it is not because I am trying to hurt you, it is because I am trying to keep you safe. Just know that I have your best interest at heart.† I hugged my mother and told her that I was sorry and that I loved her. Growing up my parents reacted in many different ways to my emotions. They responded to my emotions verbally and nonverbally. When I was a toddler I spent most of my time with my mother therefore she was the person who responded to my emotions the most. She would often respond verbally. She often times talked me through my emotions so she could find out what was really wrong, and also allowed me to express myself calmly and appropriately. If I was to have an outburst or tantrum she would often ask me questions, like, â€Å"Regina are you angry? Which gave me the opportunity to identify my feelings and or actions with words and she would never deny my feelings during these outbursts or tantrums but would just allow me to work it out or rather let it all out, which is what she would say. As I got older, teenage years to be exact, I and my parents had a couple of rough times; however, I am sure it is normal for teenagers to give their parents a decent hard time. When situations would arise when I would argue and fight with my siblings, my parents would always express to us that it was okay to disagree and voi ce how we feel ... ...cannot change, and taking control of my environment. Using these strategies in handling my stress in a more positive healthy way would make me more comfortable and aid in my ongoing process of being emotionally safe. Becoming more emotionally aware and self-regulated would impact me greatly with working with children. If I am more emotionally aware I would be able to focus more on the child’s needs and what they need to accomplish. To connect with others, we must first be in touch with ourselves. Being emotionally aware, I would be able to teach the children how to communicate their feelings with words in an acceptable manner. My skills on self-regulation and emotional awareness would also impact my interaction with children because I would know to understand and accept the child’s point of view as well as my own but also hold myself and the child to my teachings.