Have you ever asked a child, “How do you think that person feels?” and been met with a blank stare – or a completely unexpected answer? Some kids can instantly pick up on these social cues, while others struggle to connect facial expressions, body language, and verbal cues to emotions. Teaching kids to recognise emotions in others is a teachable skill, however, they often need our support with this.
In this blog, we’ll explore:
✔ The importance of neuro-affirming
✔ How to break down emotional cues into facial expressions, body language, and verbal cues
✔ Engaging activities to help kids build emotional recognition skills
Whether you’re a teacher, parent, or therapist, these strategies will help you support children in developing their ability to notice different facial expressions, body language and verbal cues and link these ‘clues’ to potential emotions, while recognising the different ways we all show our feelings to the outside world.
The importance of neuro-affirming
When teaching kids to recognise emotions in others through facial expressions, body language, and verbal cues, it’s important to use a neuro-affirming approach – one that respects diverse communication styles and avoids forcing neurodivergent children to conform to neurotypical expectations.
Traditionally, teaching kids to recognise emotions in others has often been taught using narrow definitions (e.g. happy = smiling, sad = frowning) – but this assumes all people express feelings the same way. Many children, in particular neurodivergent children, may express their emotions in a much wider and diverse way.
By using more of a traditional approach to this topic, we may unintentionally encourage masking, where kids may mimic/copy social cues of others, rather than recognising and expressing their emotions authentically. This can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and exhaustion, as masking requires constant effort by the person. Additionally, when students don’t see their own emotional expressions represented in lessons, they may feel disconnected, misunderstood, or even isolated – as if their way of experiencing and displaying emotions is ‘wrong’. It’s also so important that students understand the diverse ways peers, friends, and family may show their emotions. We want all children to feel seen and supported.
“So how do I try to keep this topic neuro-affirming?”
By honouring the different ways kids show their feelings.
Not all kids identify and interpret facial expressions, body language, and verbal cues in the same way. There is no correct way to show an emotion or feeling. So when discussing how to recognise emotions in others I try to emphasise;
- There is more than one way to show an emotion, we are all unique and have different ways of expressing how we feel. Some people may smile when they are happy, others may show it in their joy or happiness more in their body language, or other ways.
- All emotions are valid regardless of how they are expressed
- If engaging in this topic in 1:1 therapy, first consider if this topic is relevant to the child’s own goals? If it’s not, then I will not explore it.
- With older children or students we may explore the important concept of masking.
Piecing together emotions: what children need to know?
This is one of my favourite topics to teach kids! You can use lots of games, children’s interests, and activities to help teach children recognise emotions in others.
There are four key areas I teach kids when supporting them to notice and identify emotions in others: facial expressions, body language, verbal cues, and proximity.
To explore these topics, I will draw (or have them draw/trace) the outline of a body. Then, section by section, we will pretend to be detectives and discuss clues to help us guess how others might be feeling. As we talk through each section, we’ll explore the different ways someone might present with the same emotion and validate each type of expression of that emotion. For example, two people who are bored might look very different—one person might appear sluggish and slow, while another might be restless and moving around with high energy.
Here are some examples of talking points we might explore to recognising emotions in others
✅ Facial Expressions
- Eyebrows: Raised, furrowed, scrunched together, one eyebrow lifted
- Eyes: Wide open, closed, squinting, looking away, blinking rapidly, narrowed, wet/tears
- Mouth: Open, relaxed, tight, smiling, frowning, lips pressed together, corners turned up or down
- Jaw: Relaxed, clenched, trembling, shifting side to side
- Nose: Scrunched, flaring nostrils
- Cheeks & forehead: Red, pale, wrinkles
✅ Body Language
- Head position: Nodding, shaking, tilted to the side, tucked down, held high
- Posture: Standing tall, slouched, leaning forward, rigid / tight, relaxed, sluggish
- Arms & hands: Crossed, fidgeting, clenched fists, hands in pockets, gesturing, tapping fingers
- Body movements: Shifting from foot to foot, bouncing a leg, frozen still, or walking away
- Gestures: Pointing, waving, shrugging shoulders, rubbing face or arms, covering the face
✅ Verbal cues
- Volume: Loud, soft, whispering, or mumbling
- Speed: Fast, slow, hesitant, or drawn-out
- Pitch: High, low, shaky, monotone
✅ Proximity
- Physical Distance: How close or far the person is standing in relation to others
- Movement Direction: Whether the person is moving closer to or further away from someone
- Facing Orientation: Whether the person is facing others directly or turning away
- Physical Contact: Indicators like a pat on the back, a hug, or the avoidance of touch
- Personal Space: Use of space that can signal openness (leaning in) or the need for boundaries (stepping back)
8 free engaging activities to teach kids facial expressions, body language & verbal cues
Here are some fun, hands-on activities that explore how to help kids to identify emotions in others through facial expressions, body language and verbal cues.
1. Emotion charades
Act out different emotions using only facial expressions and body language – no words allowed! Get the child to guess the emotion based on gestures, posture, and facial cues. Then, switch it up and encourage them to act out emotions themselves.
2. Guess the feeling (with books, video clips and pictures)
Show books and videos (YouTube has some great short clips of popular kids shows and movies), or illustrations of people expressing emotions in different ways. You may like to use the following prompts:
- “What clues do you notice in their face and body?”
- “How do you think they might be feeling?”
- “Could there be more than one possible emotion?”
- “What do you notice about how this character is standing?”
- “Look at their face – what do their eyes and mouth tell us?”
- “What words did they use? What tone of voice do you think they’re speaking in?”
3. Mirror faces
This one is one of my favourite go-to’s for younger children exploring facial expressions. Have the child explore how different emotions might present while practicing in front of a mirror.
4. Body language ‘freeze game’
Play music and have the kids move around the room. When the music stops, call out an emotion, and they must freeze in a pose that matches it. This helps them explore how emotions can be expressed through body language.
5. Case scenarios role-play
Give the child case scenarios of real life examples and ask them to act out how someone might feel in that moment. Example:
- “Your friend just dropped their ice cream – what do they look like?”
- “Someone is waiting for their turn but really excited – how are they showing that?”
This helps kids connect social context to emotional cues.
Check out my case scenarios here (add link & pictures)
6. Feelings matching game
Use emotion flashcards, emojis, or pictures of people showing different expressions. Have kids match them with corresponding situations or body language descriptions. Example: A picture of crossed arms might be matched with a scenario about frustration or deep thinking.
7. Voice detective
Play recordings (or act out) the same sentence in different verbal cues (e.g., “I’m fine” in a happy, sad, and frustrated voice). Ask kids to guess how the person might be feeling based on tone, volume, and pitch.
8. Emotion Walk
Call out an emotion (e.g., happy, nervous, confident) and have the children walk around the room showing that emotion using their body language. How does a nervous person walk? What about someone excited? Emphasise the different ways emotions can be expressed.
After more resources to teach kids to recognise emotions in others?
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach – some kids may need more time, practice, or alternative ways to recognise emotions in others. The key is to keep it neuro-affirming, engaging, and pressure-free. Whether you’re using books, role-playing, movement-based games, or everyday observations, these small moments of learning can make a big difference in building these skills.
Looking for more ways to support kids in identifying others’ emotional cues? Explore my ready-to-go resources for hands-on, engaging activities designed to make emotional learning fun and meaningful!
Questions
If you have any questions or need further assistance please do not hesitate to get in touch here or at sophia.occupationaltherapy@gmail.com.
