What happens when we ‘flip our lids’?

Here is a model for understanding what happens in our brains when we have big emotions. Dr, Dan Siegel,  professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, developed a hand model to show children how our mind and emotions work.

Here is a simpler version of the hand model that you can share with your child:

This is an animated video that may help older children understand what happens when we have big emotions: