little people, big emotions

Encourage kids to learn new skills with self-help books

Words Caitlin Harris @_caitlinauthor

Our little people experience some BIG feelings! Feelings they don’t understand that can lead to intense meltdowns, leaving parents shell shocked.

In the last few years, affirmations, mindfulness and self-regulation have become increasingly popular models for managing emotions and feelings. Encouraging children to learn these skills in a kid-friendly manner is a great way to help them become more resilient, improve self-worth, defuse outbursts and experience healthier ways to express emotions.

A fantastic way parents can do this with their children is through books. Local Coal Coast business, The Sensory Studio, have an amazing collection of books and resources for families.

Here are some of our favourites:

Pretty Spectacular
Written by: Caitlin Harris

Perfect for children aged 0-6, Pretty Spectacular is a fun and meaningful affirmations book that explores the importance of ‘inner beauty’ and what makes each child unique.

The World of Ruby Red Shoes- A Book About Ruby’s Feelings

Written by: Kate Knapp

A beautifully written rhyming book, A Book About Ruby’s Feelings is targeted at 5–7-year-olds. Each page highlights a different feeling or emotion and why children may feel this way. It is a great conversation starter to approach some hard to handle emotions and ways of managing them.

Aroha’s Way

Written by: Craig Phillips

Aroha’s Way is just one book in a series that helps children navigate big feelings. Using rhyme and gorgeous illustrations, Aroha’s Way thoughtfully touches on the topic of anxiety. An amazing addition to this book is the parents and carers section to explore tools to help their anxious children.

All Sorts

Written by: Pippa Goodhart

Frankie, the main character in All Sorts, loves to sort objects, but realises people are rather tricky to classify! This is a meaningful and fun book that shines light on diversity and showing children it is okay to be different. All Sorts is a fabulous way to demonstrate uniqueness to young children.

My Book of Feelings

Written by: Tracey Ross

Recommended for 5–10-year-olds, My Book of Feelings is a simple yet informative children’s book exploring ‘sharp’ and ‘fluffy’ emotions. What is great about this book is the author has provided prompts for children to help them ‘use their words’ to talk about their feelings.