Ask Ellen: How to Respond to Your Child's Big Emotions | MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds

Ask Ellen: How to Respond to Your Child’s Big Emotions

By Ellen Braaten, PhD and Sara Rattigan, Communications Director

Posted in: Multimedia, Parenting Concerns, Videos

During challenging times, it’s normal for families to feel overwhelmed and anxious. But kids don’t always have the necessary skills to cope with those emotions, and this can sometimes lead to tantrums and meltdowns. What can parents do in these situations?

In our latest Ask Ellen Q&A, child psychologist Dr. Ellen Braaten took questions directly from parents, caregivers, and teachers. Tune in to learn how you can help your child regulate their emotions while managing your own.

Media List

What If My Child Has Tantrums? (MGH Clay Center)
Surviving Tantrums With Toddlers – Shrinking It Down (MGH Clay Center)
Anger Management: How to Help You and Your Kids Stay in Control (MGH Clay Center)
Managing Meltdowns During This Time of Crisis (Understood)
How Can We Help Kids With Self-Regulation? (Child Mind Institute)
Could Screen-Free Week Backfire? Finding The Middle Ground (MGH Clay Center)
Giving a 2-Year-Old a 15-Minute Time-Out (MGH Clay Center)
How to Help Kids Cope With Situational Anxiety (MGH Clay Center)
What if My Child has Oppositional Defiant Disorder? (MGH Clay Center)
What Is Conduct Disorder? (MGH Clay Center)

Episode produced by Joshua Eng

Music by Dr. Gene Beresin

Special thanks to Monique Costa, Mass General Social Media Manager, and the Mass General Marketing Department

We are deeply grateful to Lavinia Clay and the Clay Center Advisory Council for supporting our Ask Ellen Q&A series. Their steadfast commitment to the Clay Center’s mission makes our work possible.

Thanks for visiting the Clay Center. We are entirely funded by visitors like you. We receive no financial support from Massachusetts General Hospital or Harvard Medical School. Your support of our work helps us to continue to produce content on mental health topics that support the emotional well-being of young people everywhere.

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Ellen Braaten, PhD

Ellen Braaten, PhD, is executive director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, and former co-director for the MGH Clay Cente...

To read full bio click here.

Sara Rattigan, Communications Director

Sara Rattigan, M.S. is the communications director for The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a public health communicator whose passion has always centered around innovative a...

To learn more about Sara, or to contact her directly, please see Our Team.

Ask Ellen: How to Respond to Your Child’s Big Emotions