A Brain-Based Guide to Help Children Regulate Emotions

When your brain perceives danger, your body and mind will go instantly into one of three modes-flight, fight, or freeze. Your heart races, your body tenses up, your hands shake, and your emotions take over rational thought.

You've entered The Flood Zone.

When children experience The Flood Zone, their behavior changes. They yell, bite, or run away. They withdraw and lose concentration. They blame and lie. In this state, children are unable to be rational, regulated, or otherwise compliant. Even the most motivated child (or adult) with the greatest coping strategies won't be able to identify or manage their emotions in The Flood Zone.

In Flooded, counselor and bestselling author, Allison Edwards explains how parents, teachers, and counselors can identify when children have entered The Flood Zone. She also offers suggestions for teaching children (and adults!) how to regain control of their emotions.

In this book, you'll get:

• An overview of how the brain interacts with emotions
• Understanding of the role of trauma in emotional health
• Explanation of why children can't respond rationally in stressful circumstances
• Techniques for teaching children how to regulate emotions
• Suggestions for setting up your classroom or office to improve emotional awareness
• Strategies for improving interactions with children at school and home

As educators, parents, and professionals, we need to teach children and teens how to identify their emotions, learn what triggers those feelings, and provide strategies to manage their feelings in a healthy way. This book explains how.

Edwards, Allison

Allison Edwards is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist who specializes in working with children, adolescents, and their families. She received her undergraduate degree in Education from Northwest Missouri State and a graduate degree in Counseling from Vanderbilt University.

Before opening a private practice, Allison developed and maintained a play therapy program for at-risk and immigrant children in the public school system. In her current practice, she sees children of all ages, consults with parents, supervises counselors, and writes about childhood anxiety. She also serves as an Affiliate Professor at Vanderbilt University where she enjoys teaching future counselors how to work with kids.