Acknowledging a child's feelings is one of the most important things we can do as parents. It helps our child to feel deeply understood for even their wildest fantasies and desires. It also gives words to their feelings so they can help them sort through all these confusing feelings that they have, especially in the toddler years. There's so much going on and it's much easier for them if we can say, "You seem really," I mean we don't like to jump to the conclusion of what they feel, so that's why to say something like "you seem" rather than "you're angry" or "you're afraid." "You seem worried about the dog. Are you worried about the dog?" instead of saying like, "Oh, that's just a dog. What's the matter with you? You don't have to be afraid of the dog." Or, "You're afraid of the dog, you're afraid of the dog." Instead of, it might be something else, you might be startled, something else. So it's helping the child to understand their feelings, it's helping you to understand their feelings and their point of view, because immediately it takes you into empathy when you've said these words out loud. It reminds you: Oh yeah, there' s another person with a whole different point of view. Also, it's very good for the child to just be able to feel acknowledged enough to move on and know that, okay, you understood what I wanted. I'm still not getting it, perhaps if it's wanting the ice cream cone and it's not time for that now; I'm not getting what I want but you know that I want it and it's okay that I want it and therefore I'm okay. For all of these reasons, acknowledgments are one of the most powerful tools we have as parents and, in fact, I believe that they're the key to your child's heart.