Emotions

Around two years old, I try to teach my children their emotions, I find tantrums are less challenging if they can say or sign, angry, mad, hungry, sad, excited, want, etc. Plus I would rather my children tell they are mad then hit me in the face. We are working on emotions, but the only two Nan relates to are sad/cry and love/kiss.  When we sing the wheels on the bus, she just wants the babies going wah, wah wah.  She is so sad for those sad babies.  When she takes care of her babies, they are crying and need to be comforted, she has an eagle eye for pictures of sad babies.  I have no problem with us looking at sad babies, negitive emotions need to be addressed too, but like I said I do try to ask her about other emotions. She always goes back to the sad.  She can't move past the sad, maybe once we can learn some other emotions, she in her own life will stop being so fussy.  For whatever reason she has had a sad challenging infancy, and even though she can't talk all she wants to talk about is what it was/is like to be a sad baby.  Poor thing, I feel bad.  But its isn't all sad, she also understands hugs and kiss, dollys always need hugs and kisses.  If a toy isn't crying its being kissed.  Tonight all the rubber duckies were kissing each other.  All she wants to talk about is crying, but she also definitely understands being loved.

By the way, I don't think emotions are something just to be taught to a two year old.  I'm still working on it with J.  He had lots of tantrums since Brent went back to school.  Something is wrong and he screams, he was never a screamer until a year ago, maybe less, maybe it was something else other Brent in school.  I don't know what it was, maybe his sister taught him and it was none of the above.  Brent likes to joke and often says ridiculous things to J, which J gets upset about and cries to me.  I tell him daddy is joking and you need to talk to daddy if you don't like something he is doing.  Well recently when dad says something ridiculous like no food until thanksgiving.  J says, "you are being rude, stop". I'm so proud of him, rude isn't actually the right word, but he is getting closer, and he can now confront dad instead of crying to me.  Funny thing is he has been confronting his friends when they hurt his feelings all summer, there were a lot of children under 5 this summer, and so everyone was always hurting someone's feelings its just the way small kids are. Also it should be said, Brent is a great dad, his joking with J is only about 2% of their relationship, so this paragraph should not speak illy on my husband. J and Brent get a long great. Brent isn't even the point of the post, J took up half, but the post was suppose to be about poor Nan, and how all she wants to do is talk about being sad.
Although in her defense, she loves to sing if you are happy and you know it clap your hands.  The other day I added the second verse if your mad you know it stomp your feet, or sad, I don't remember what I said, she got so upset at me, and wouldn't calm down until I went back to if you are happy clap your hands.  She wants to talk about being sad, but I think she wants to be happy, she just has hard time.