Aurélie Crétin is a psychologist and psychotherapist specialising in cognitive behavioural therapy. She teaches at the University of Lyon-I.

How should you react to your child’s fear, anger or sadness? These are feelings that any parent would wish to wipe from a child’s face and replace with a happy smile. But emotions govern our lives and they are the central axis of children’s development, enabling them to identify their needs and desires and warning them of danger. Emotions allow children to communicate and to recognise their likes and dislike; they impact their behaviour, thoughts and relations to others.
Parents must therefore understand their child’s emotional life: why their child reacts as she does, whether her reactions are justified or excessive. But parents must also understand their own reactions and distinguish between their emotions and their child’s.
When parents react appropriately to their child’s emotions it becomes easier to help the child — but it also helps parents acquire self-confidence in their parenting skills.

• Knowing how to manage a child’s emotions is one of the keys to education.
• A highly practical book, with useful methods, examples and advice to cope with daily life.
• A book in the ‘Mieux Vivre’ series, edited by Frédéric Fanget.