I opened the Natural Parenting Center's game Feeleez with mixed emotions. Yes, I realize children need help with conflict resolution and developing empathy, but those topics are not always pleasant ones. But my granddaughter Z surprised me. She willingly delved into emotions I had no idea that she could identify. Quite adept at identifying a range of feelings from sadness to confusion to happiness and beyond, we enjoyed several playtime sessions of discussions about why and how she feels. The game can take many forms - as the Natural Parenting Center writes, parents can "start with a simple matching game but then step back and watch your children take the lead. Kids enjoy sorting feelings by type, acting out scenarios, picking favorites," and more.


As Z and I talked, I realized that this game would have been less fun but more useful with my stepson when he was young. V was an angry child, prone to temper tantrums and livid fits. He did not seem to understand how he felt, much less how he made others feel. (By the way, he is a wonderful, caring young man now.) We could have used a game such as Feeleez to open discussions and try to begin to manage his emotions on a more intellectual level.

If you're thinking, But emotions have nothing to do with intelligence!, you are right. But a parental reaction to an emotional outburst from a child can be intelligent. And perhaps, with a game such as Feeleez, we could have had a starting point to discuss how he felt and why he felt, and made him feel less alone with his anger.

The emotions portrayed in Feeleez are also not all negative ones. There are expressions of contentment, joy, and other forms of happiness or solace. More interestingly still, many of the drawings contain subtle cues and are open to interpretation, portraying complex or even ambivalent emotional states that children and parents can discuss and interpret.

I’d recommend Feeleez to anyone with a child under 10, especially if you sometimes don’t have all the words you need to begin a frank discussion about feelings.


You can purchase Feeleez from the Natural Parenting Center's online store. A sturdy set in a nice tin runs $20.

This lovely set of stuffed felted letters is too cute not to post. $55 from Etsy's MiChiMa. [Via MightyJunior]