You cannot erase emotional wounds in children, But you can give them the necessary tools so that they learn to channel those emotions that make them feel bad. The tools will give them opportunities to write, especially when they feel lost or going through difficult emotional times.
Journaling helps children develop a sense of ownership and positive control over emotions. A journal is not a substitute for mental health treatment, but it is very helpful. It can be a journal to write feelings, draw them, use colors ... there are no barriers. The diaries can be with meaningful images, They can also be song lyrics that capture feelings, etc.
Control of emotions
Journaling also helps children understand their emotions and name them. These skills are especially useful when there are events in their lives. that make them somewhat emotionally unstable. It can even help them in certain environments that cause fear or anxiety, or even in events beyond their control, such as changing a school.
Often times, people who experience trauma, both adults and children, find it difficult to verbalize their experiences, especially for children. They may fear getting into trouble or upsetting adults if they say how they feel. If you teach your children to write a journal, you will be giving them the opportunity and the space (along with privacy) to express their feelings and that they are able to understand each other better and seek solutions from another perspective. They will be able to write or draw their emotions without fear and without prejudice.
Express your emotions
The journal also gives children opportunities to identify and explore their emotions, express their feelings, and build an emotional vocabulary that gives meaning to what happened and to participate in problem solving.
In this way, children who understand and have enough privacy to express their emotions will be less likely to express their feelings with disruptive behaviors or with psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches or muscle aches.
For children, it is difficult to make sense of things and for that reason, it is important that parents are attentive to possible psychosomatic symptoms to assess what is happening and seek solution options.
Children don't always know how to talk about what they feel
As anyone who has been around children knows, they are always listening. They listen to parents' conversations in silence, they watch social networks without saying anything, children listen to adults talking about any matter but they keep quiet.
Children are not always sure how to speak the things they feel. On many occasions they are not sure what they are feeling, especially when some trauma has happened to them that has unbalanced them emotionally.
Teach your kids to keep a journal
Writing a journal will strengthen them and help them to be more serene in the face of any obstacle. They will learn to discover emotions, to write them down, to feel them and to look for solutions when they are not well. Therefore, work with your children on emotions and they will begin to be well little by little, they will begin to be assertive and have empathy. They will value their own emotions and also those of others. Because to understand the feelings of others, you must first understand your own.
But diaries are not only for children, you as an adult can also write a journal to improve your emotional state. Write what affects you every day, your experiences, the things for which you are grateful. You will realize the power of your own written words and how much better your mind is.