You Are Hurting My Feelings

You Are Hurting My Feelings: Teaching Emotional Skills with Puppets

Help your child find the words for big emotions—starting with “you are hurting my feelings.”

Young children often struggle to express hurt or frustration with words. Teaching them how to say “you are hurting my feelings” is a powerful step toward emotional literacy—and puppet storytelling can make this easier and more playful.

Puppet Play Builds Confident Communicators

Puppets give children a “voice” that feels safe and creative. By having a puppet say, “That made me sad,” or “You are hurting my feelings,” kids learn to name and share their emotions with confidence.

Start with simple scenarios. For example, one puppet might say something unkind. Encourage your child to respond: “You are hurting my feelings, Bunny. Please stop.” This opens the door for powerful role-play and dialogue.

A Safe Way to Process Tough Moments

When children act out emotional scenes through puppets, they’re not just playing—they’re processing. If your child experienced a moment of exclusion, their puppet might say it out loud, releasing tension and creating emotional clarity.

This also gives you, the caregiver, a window into how they’re feeling and what they might need support with.

For more on this approach, check out this article on emotion coaching.

Empathy and Social Skills in Action

By practicing phrases like “you are hurting my feelings,” children learn empathy—not just for themselves, but for others. They begin to understand the impact of words and actions, and how to repair hurt in a kind, thoughtful way.

Create stories with characters who make mistakes, say sorry, and model listening. This helps kids learn SEL skills in a context they understand.

Encouraging Language + Emotional Growth

Puppet storytelling combines emotional expression with language development. Kids build sentence structure, expand their vocabulary, and develop conversation skills—especially in emotionally charged situations.

Let your child guide the story. Give them space to invent characters, conflicts, and resolutions, always coming back to how the characters feel and what they say.

Our Favorite SEL Toy Picks

Looking for tools that make emotional learning more hands-on and interactive? Try this Cubo Toys favorite:

Cubo Sticky Feelings: A reusable sticker set designed to help children name, identify, and move through emotions. Kids can use the feeling faces to express how characters (or they!) feel during storytelling. A perfect companion to puppet play!

Emotion Flash Cards: Our free and beautiful deck of child-friendly emotion cards designed to help kids recognize and name their feelings. Use these printable cards before or after puppet storytelling to spark conversation, deepen understanding, or match expressions to emotional moments.

Language That Sticks, Lessons That Last

Teaching kids to say “you are hurting my feelings” helps them build boundaries, express themselves clearly, and navigate friendships with empathy. Puppet play is a powerful, gentle way to practice this every day.