My Body Is Telling Me…

The idea

Children often notice a big feeling only once it is already very big. This activity practises the step before that — noticing body clues like a fast heart, tight hands or heavy legs — while your child is settled enough to learn. The more familiar the clues become on a calm day, the easier they are to spot on a hard one.

The loop

1. My body is telling me…
2. What do I notice?
3. What might help?
4. Check my body again.

Things to say

• “What is your body telling you?”
• “Is your heart fast or slow?”
• “What do your hands feel like?”
• “I notice your shoulders are up high. What do you notice?”
• “Would you like a break, a squeeze, or some space?”
• “Let’s check your body again.”

Things that tend not to help

• “Why are you behaving like this?”
• “Just calm down.”
• “Use your breathing.”
• “You know what you’re supposed to do.”

How to use it

• Practise at a settled time, not in the middle of a hard moment. That is when learning sticks.
• A session is six short activities, mixed each time. Stop whenever you like.
• Try the strategies for real alongside the screen — a real squishy ball, a real wall push, a real drink of water.
• When your child is very upset, use fewer words. One question, or just an offer: “Squeeze or space?”

Good to know

• One body clue can go with many feelings. A fast heart can mean excited, worried, cross — or just running. The activity never says which one your child feels.
• “Not sure” is always an answer, and so is “It feels the same”. A strategy that did not help is useful information, not a failure.
• Crying and a loud voice are treated as clues, never as bad behaviour.
• Pain, trouble breathing or feeling unwell are always “tell a trusted grown-up”, never an emotion to work out.
• Nothing is scored. “Things that help me” is saved only in this browser, and never sent anywhere.
• This is an educational resource, not therapy or medical advice.