No you're not crazy - at least not based on this one example of your thinking! Parents can help their children identify feelings by consistently naming their own feelings and their child's feelings in everyday communications. John Gottman wrote a book called "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child" in which he sites research on thousands of children showing that they can indeed learn to identify and communicate their emotions from a very young age. The technique of Emotional Coaching, found in Gottman's book and in my book Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice (and on the MP3 download on this site) helps children develop this skill.   All the best,  Sarah Chana

My 4 year old is very articulate about his feelings. He says things like "You are hurting my feelings" and "I feel sad" and I am frustrated." I think that he can do this because we always talk about our feelings at home.