{"id":135346,"date":"2024-11-18T14:11:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T18:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=135346"},"modified":"2025-09-03T14:25:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T18:25:01","slug":"childrens-emotions-and-feelings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don’t Try to “Fix” Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you react when your child is upset? Do you always try to cheer them up? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychotherapist Amy Morin says that parents shouldn’t try to fix their children’s emotions and feelings. Instead, you should offer support while letting them know that it’s okay to feel upset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s why parents need to allow their children to feel upset sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of Shortform\u2019s guide to emotional intelligence<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentally Strong Parents Don\u2019t \u201cFix\u201d Their Children\u2019s Emotions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A temptation Morin warns against is the urge to cheer up your child whenever they feel sad or hurt. This is important because, much like children need to learn how to cope with physical pain and risk, they also need to develop the skills to handle their painful feelings.<\/strong> Therefore, it\u2019s important to let them experience and learn to cope with a wide variety of emotions, from frustration and embarrassment to boredom to grief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, instead of trying to make your child feel better right away, the author suggests offering validation and support when they\u2019re struggling. Let your child know that it\u2019s OK to feel what they\u2019re feeling, and that you\u2019re there to help them through it\u2014but not to fix the problem or to somehow make the pain go away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: What Morin describes here is often called co-regulation<\/a>. This is a parenting strategy where you help your child regulate big emotions using skills like soothing words and gentle touches, and offering suggestions such as taking a snack break. Your child will internalize those emotional management skills over time, so eventually they\u2019ll no longer need an adult\u2019s help to regulate their feelings. However, co-regulation is challenging; it requires you to stay calm while your child is upset, and there will be times when you have trouble regulating your own emotions, let alone your child\u2019s. That\u2019s why it takes a great deal of mental strength<\/a> to practice this strategy consistently.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to Do Instead: Build Skills and Offer Support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What does it mean to help your child with their feelings but not to make them feel better? To illustrate this concept, here are three suggestions that Morin offers about how to help your child when they\u2019re upset, and<\/em> prepare them to deal with their own emotions when you\u2019re not there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Build your child\u2019s emotional vocabulary<\/a>. <\/strong>Encourage your child to talk about what they\u2019re feeling. Get specific: for instance, are they sad or just disappointed? Are they actually angry, or would it be more appropriate to say they\u2019re annoyed or frustrated? Morin adds that the most effective way to do this is to talk about your own feelings in the same way, so your child will learn new vocabulary and understand that it\u2019s OK to discuss their feelings with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In Atlas of the Heart<\/em><\/a>, social worker Bren\u00e9 Brown says that people feel dozens of different emotions, but many of us can only recognize three of them: happiness, sadness, and anger. Brown says that this lack of vocabulary stops us from being able to understand our feelings and share them with each other, which leaves us isolated and depressed. To help people overcome that obstacle, Brown names and defines numerous emotions that people might feel about themselves<\/a> (such as shame, confidence, and happiness), about each other<\/a> (like anger, empathy, and vulnerability), and about things that happen<\/a> (such as anxiety or boredom).)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Coach your child on appropriate ways to handle their feelings. <\/strong>All emotions are valid, but that doesn\u2019t mean all behaviors <\/em>are valid. For instance, it\u2019s common for an angry child to throw a temper tantrum\u2014they scream, cry, break things, and so on. In this case, your role as a parent isn\u2019t to stop them from being angry, but rather to teach anger management skills like talking to someone, writing about their feelings, or finding a safe outlet for their anger such as a punching bag or pillow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Come up with ways your child can influence their own emotions. <\/strong>You can\u2019t manage your child\u2019s emotions for them\u2014however, finding ways they can make themselves <\/em>feel better is helpful. Everybody is different, so Morin says you\u2019ll have to work together with your child on this one: Brainstorm things your child can do when they need to calm down, cheer up, or otherwise regain control of their feelings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children Can Regulate Feelings by Accepting Them<\/strong>

While Morin suggests teaching your child ways to take control of their feelings, psychologist Tara Brach takes a different approach to managing difficult emotions<\/a>. In Radical Acceptance<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Brach says it\u2019s impossible to fully control your feelings, but you can <\/em>ensure they don\u2019t control you. You can maintain control of yourself by accepting all of your moment-to-moment thoughts and emotions\u2014the titular Radical Acceptance\u2014but also recognizing that you don\u2019t need to act on what you think or feel. This practice has two key components<\/a>: recognition<\/em>, which means clearly understanding your inner experiences, and compassion<\/em>, which means responding to those experiences with kindness and love rather than with judgment and harsh self-criticism. In this way, you can understand that negative thoughts and feelings<\/a> are merely passing experiences, and not problems that must be immediately fixed. 

One effective way to build these skills is to practice mindfulness meditation with your child<\/a>. You and your child can sit comfortably, breathe deeply, and pay close attention to what you each think and feel. Do so without judgment<\/a>: For instance, if you realize that you\u2019re feeling angry about something, just accept that feeling for what it is instead of berating yourself or trying to make it go away. Practicing mindfulness meditation<\/a> for just a few minutes each day can help your child (and you) develop self-awareness and self-control. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you react when your child is upset? Do you always try to cheer them up? Psychotherapist Amy Morin says that parents shouldn’t try to fix their children’s emotions and feelings. Instead, you should offer support while letting them know that it’s okay to feel upset. Here’s why parents need to allow their children to feel upset sometimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":136383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,9],"tags":[1660],"class_list":["post-135346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","category-psychology","tag-13-things-mentally-strong-parents-dont-do","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nChildren\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don't Try to "Fix" Them - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Children's emotions and feelings don't need to be "fixed." Rather, as a parent, you should let your child work through their own feelings.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don't Try to "Fix" Them\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Children's emotions and feelings don't need to be "fixed." Rather, as a parent, you should let your child work through their own feelings.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-18T18:11:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T18:25:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1062\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"595\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\"},\"headline\":\"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don’t Try to “Fix” Them\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-18T18:11:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-03T18:25:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/\"},\"wordCount\":1016,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don't Do\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Parenting\",\"Psychology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/\",\"name\":\"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don't Try to \\\"Fix\\\" Them - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-18T18:11:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-03T18:25:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"Children's emotions and feelings don't need to be \\\"fixed.\\\" Rather, as a parent, you should let your child work through their own feelings.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp\",\"width\":1062,\"height\":595,\"caption\":\"A black and white image of a mother hugging her son, who looks distressed, showing children's emotions and feelings\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don’t Try to “Fix” Them\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\",\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Aster\"},\"description\":\"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"SEO Team Lead\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don't Try to \"Fix\" Them - Shortform Books","description":"Children's emotions and feelings don't need to be \"fixed.\" Rather, as a parent, you should let your child work through their own feelings.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don't Try to \"Fix\" Them","og_description":"Children's emotions and feelings don't need to be \"fixed.\" Rather, as a parent, you should let your child work through their own feelings.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2024-11-18T18:11:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-03T18:25:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1062,"height":595,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Hannah Aster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hannah Aster","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Aster","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f"},"headline":"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don’t Try to “Fix” Them","datePublished":"2024-11-18T18:11:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T18:25:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/"},"wordCount":1016,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp","keywords":["13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don't Do"],"articleSection":["Parenting","Psychology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/","name":"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don't Try to \"Fix\" Them - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp","datePublished":"2024-11-18T18:11:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T18:25:01+00:00","description":"Children's emotions and feelings don't need to be \"fixed.\" Rather, as a parent, you should let your child work through their own feelings.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp","width":1062,"height":595,"caption":"A black and white image of a mother hugging her son, who looks distressed, showing children's emotions and feelings"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/childrens-emotions-and-feelings\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Children\u2019s Emotions and Feelings: Don’t Try to “Fix” Them"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f","name":"Hannah Aster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hannah Aster"},"description":"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.","knowsAbout":["Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing"],"jobTitle":"SEO Team Lead","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/son-and-mother-hugging.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135346"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145574,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135346\/revisions\/145574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}