vocab 1

Challenges for Parents and Guardians

An emotional vocabulary is one in which language accurately describes how you are feeling. While, as parents, we will actively encourage our kids to express their feelings with words, as adults, we often fall short.

This is often because, as adults, we are expected to be better adjusted and stable. Over times, feelings that may have once been part of our emotional vocabulary may suddenly be considered weaknesses by others. As result, we may instinctively restrict our vocabulary to anything but the broadest terms (such as "angry" or "happy") or adopt lingo (like "cool" or "awesome") to abstract and generalize our feelings.

As a result, we will often forget how to express our emotions verbally and will instead use emojis or internet slang like "LOL" or "ROFL" to clarify these feelings. These behaviors are not only adopted by our kids but encouraged culturally as the very speed of communications shortcuts vocabulary and expression to anything but the mere essentials.

It is only by intervening as parents, ideally when our kids are young, that we can help them not only build sophisticated emotional vocabularies but approach feelings and relationships in a more sophisticated and well-adjusted way.

Strategies for Raising Emotionally Intelligent Kid

 To help begin the journey, here is a list of common feelings words from A to Z: 

A 

Angry, Annoyed, Afraid, Awkward, Affectionate, Anxious, Alarmed, Awed, Aggravated, Amazed, Astonished, Amused, Apprehensive, Absorbed, Ambivalent, Ashamed, Able, Addled, Admired, Admirable, Affable, Agreeable, Aggressive, Abandoned 

B 

Brave, Bothered, Bewildered, Bitter, Bashful, Blue, Baffled, Blissful, Buoyant, Bereaved, Bold

C

Cheerful, Cooperative, Confident, Calm, Cold, Curious, Content, Considerate, Cautious, Cranky, Crestfallen, Contrite, Chagrined, Carefree, Composed, Capable, Caring, Careful, Contemptuous, Cross, Concerned, Complacent, Charitable, Crushed, Cantankerous, Compulsive

D

Defiant, Depressed, Discouraged, Delighted, Disgusted, Determined, Disappointed, Detached, Daring, Disillusioned, Devious, Dismayed, Disenchanted, Doleful, Disinterested, Disdainful, Dismissive, Dejected, Disengaged, Distant

E

Elated, Enthusiastic, Embarrassed, Edgy, Excited, Envious, Exhausted, Eager, Exuberant, Enraged, Euphoric, Extravagant, Ecstatic, Eager, Emboldened

F

Funny, Frightened, Fearful, Furious, Fair, Foolish, Frustrated, Forgiving, Flustered, Fulfilled, Fatigued

G

Grouchy, Guilty, Grief-stricken, Generous, Greedy, Grateful, Grumpy, Guarded, Gleeful, Glad, Gloomy, Glum, Gracious, Grateful 

H

Happy, Humiliated, Hurt, Helpless, Hopeless, Horrified, Hesitant, Humbled, Heartbroken, Hysterical, Hyperactive

I

Irritated, Irritable, Interested, Insecure, Impatient, Inspired, Inspiring, Inadequate, Irrational, Ignorant, Indifferent, Irked, Impertinent, Inquisitive, Isolated

J

Jealous, Joyful, Joyous, Judgmental, Judged, Jaded, Jocular, Jittery

K

Kind, Keen

L

Loving, Lonely, Lackluster, Leery, Lethargic, Listless, Lazy