5 films to help your child understand their emotions

The school holidays can be challenging for some children. While they provide a much-needed break from the usual school routine, they can also disrupt familiar patterns and leave some children feeling uncertain. To support your child’s mental health during the school holidays, it's important to find a balance between keeping some structure and making room for downtime so that they can recharge and be ready for when they’re back in the classroom.

Watching films to help your child understand their emotions is great way to relax and spend time together. Not only is family film time fun for all ages, but it can also be a great way to help children of all ages work out, understand, and manage their emotions.

Here are five films we recommend to help them begin to understand how they feel and why.

1. Inside Out (2015) / Inside Out 2 (2024)

Find out what’s happening inside 11-year-old Riley’s mind, where her emotions - Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust - deal with life’s ups and downs. With each emotion portrayed as a character, we get to watch as they influence Riley’s reactions to issues that come up in her life. It also shows how different emotions are natural and important to our overall wellbeing.

In Inside Out 2, Riley is a teenager, and her emotions are joined by more complex feelings such as Anxiety and Embarrassment, which show the changes we face growing up.

This film can help your child understand: Emotions, coping with change, and valuing all feelings.

2. Finding Nemo (2003)
After losing his wife and other children to a predator, Marlin the clownfish is now overprotective of his son, Nemo.

When Nemo rebels against Marlin, he is caught by a diver. To rescue Nemo, Marlin has to face his biggest fears and discover how resilient he can be when things get tough.

This film can help your child understand: Overcoming fear, resilience, letting go, and the importance of trust.

3. Moana (2016)
Moana needs to sail across the ocean to save the island where she and her family and friends live. While doing this, Moana learns to trust herself, becomes braver and more determined, and also embraces her heritage.

This film can help your child understand: Working out who you are, bravery, and leadership.

4. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
This is the story of Kubo, a young boy with magical powers who uses them to find out more about his family. As he does, Kubo learns about facing loss and that sometimes it takes courage to face your fears.

This film can help your child understand: Dealing with loss and courage.

5. Wonder (2017)
Auggie is a young boy who looks different. When Auggie starts school, it’s a difficult time, but he and the other children and their parents learn how to accept others for who they are, not what they look like, and how to be kind.

This film can help your child understand: Empathy, acceptance, and the power of kindness.

These films can all teach us important lessons which can help start conversations about our feelings and other tricky subjects. After watching them, take some time to talk about the characters’ feelings and how you can relate to them. This can help your child develop a better understanding of their own feelings, and how to articulate them.