Jars of emotion

Jars of emotion

By Babysits
3 min read

Expressing emotions can be a challenge for us all, both adults and children can often shy away and hide their feelings. As parents, it's important to be a good role model for our kids and encourage them to express their feelings, but also understand why they may be feeling these emotions in certain situations. The ability to express your emotions and feelings openly is critical for healthy emotional development.

We have created this simple DIY to help your little ones learn about their emotions and how to express them freely (maybe even some parents can learn something from this one!)
For this DIY you will only need a few things, most you will have at home!

  • Empty glass jars or any other type of container, a great way to recycle them!
  • Paint (choose at least 5 bright colors)
  • Paint Brush
  • Marker
  • Optional: stickers for decoration

The steps are as follows:

  1. Clean the jar well with warm soapy water, make sure there is no paper or glue residue on the outside
  2. Paint each jar a different color and let them dry for a few hours or overnight

DIY for kids

  1. Once they are dry, let your imagination run wild and with your marker draw different emotions to represent your feelings
  2. Finally, decorate the jars, be as creative as you wish using glitter stickers or ribbons, this is the fun part!

Diy to help kids express emotion

Once the DIY is complete, explain to the kids what each feeling means and why we sometimes feel this way.
You can explain by example:

  • Joy: When I see my friends at our playdate
  • Anger: When I don't understand something or don't agree with it
  • Worry: When someone around me is sick

It’s a good idea to practice this regularly, so our kids become comfortable with their emotions and expressing themselves freely. To do this, you can tell them to put a legume (any type of bean) in each jar every time they experience one of these feelings. This way parents can check the jars at the end of the day to see how their children have been feeling.


Do you like this, DIY? Check out our DIYs for more fun ideas!
And don't forget to share your creations with us on Instagram! Mention @babysits to show off your talents!

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