Helping Children Recognize and Express Their Feelings Younger children cry when they are sad, strike out when they are angry, and laugh when they are happy. As children grow older, they can use words to go along with these feelings, but it does take time. Once children have learned to express their feelings in words, they are less likely to act them out in ways that are inappropriate. Most important, they learn to recognize that it is good to express their own feelings as long as they respect the feelings of other people.