Some kids oftentimes struggle with regulating their emotions. When they feel a certain way, like angry or upset, they don’t always understand what to do with those feelings because many of them have not quite learned how to handle or manage their feelings and emotions .
Instead, many of them lash out and oftentimes can be mean or cruel to their parents.
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Finding the right way to teach your kids about emotions can be hard.
Teaching young kids about how to manage emotions can be a hard path and challenge because they don’t always understand why things are the way that they are.
But, some parents find ways to build that path for us all.
A recent TikTok video of a mom talking with her son has gone viral for the most important reason.
29-year-old mom Destiny Bennett was trying to find a way to speak to her 5-year-old son, Cash, about his own emotions and anger.
Like many 5-year-olds, Cash was lashing out when he was feeling angry and upset.
Instead of yelling at him, Destiny tried “gentle parenting.”
Destiny and Cash were caught on her Ring Camera for her doorbell when they were outside of her home.
She told TODAY that she was “on the verge of tears” from trying to deal with Cash that day and his anger. But, she chose to do something else, instead.
Destiny got down to Cash’s level and spoke to him about these feelings.
“I can see how angry you are, and I want you to feel better. Sometimes feeling better is getting the things that we want, but sometimes we can’t get the things we want,” she told her 5-year-old son.
She also said that it’s “okay” to feel this way.
“And it’s OK to be angry, but then we have to be able to let it go and understand that we’re not going to get it and we have to find another way to make our body feel better,” she continued.
Realizing the emotions her son was having and validating them means a lot.
In the video, Cash then pulls his mom in for a big hug. The two share an embrace before she says that they can have a good day together.
The talk is something that many parents strive to have with their kids but don’t know how.
Many people on TikTok thanked Destiny for sharing this video with millions online.
“This conversation right here while it seems simple is everything. I wish someone could have done that for me. Keep up the good work,” one person said on the video.
A commenter asked if Destiny had been parented with the “gentle parenting” approach, too.
Because Destiny seemed to be so calm, cool, and collected with her son Cash, one person only asked Destiny if she had, too, been parented by her own parents with the “gentle” approach.
Destiny said her mom did a wonderful job, but she definitely parents differently.
Others said they wish their parents had spoken to them like this.
Some said their parents had never spoken to them the way that Destiny spoke to her son.
“The way my mom would just tell me “I’ll give you something to cry/be upset about” brought to tears to my eyes this morning,” said one person.
Another said they don’t even have kids but this spoke to them.
“I don’t have kids but not gonna lie, I’ve never really taken the gentle parenting seriously… This one interaction has changed my entire perspective,” said another commenter.
They explained some videos seem staged and fake but this felt so real and authentic.
Others said it’s up to our generation of parents to “break the cycle.”
“You are raising a man there. We need to make it ok for our kids to express themselves but in a healthier way not just suck it up. break the cycle,” said one person, referring to the way some parents told their kids their emotions were not okay or appropriate.
