Regulating big emotions can be tricky for little ones and can often feel overwhelming.
But two Australian women – psychologist, Sharon Kirschner and occupational therapist, Lucy Jones – believe they have tools that may help families and educators, as co-creators of a new emotional regulation well-being book series and coping tool set.
My Magical Belt is aimed at children aged 4-7 years-old and focuses on the central character of Ziggy the zebra, who learns about how to use specific tools to help manage his feelings and gain control of his ‘volcanic’ explosion as he goes through relatable childhood experiences. The stories are designed to help kids experience a play-based approach to identifying and regulating their emotions – and for many parents, teachers and childcare workers, that means much-needed relief.
Each of the four books in the new series incorporates evidence-based emotional regulation techniques and has a purpose-designed tool to accompany it. The four tools – a squishy toy, a sparkle disc, a bubble bottle and a movement dice – are proven helpful for all kids to manage their emotions and are especially great for kids with ADHD, autism, and anxiety. A tool belt has also been designed to hold all the tools to help children put the calming, emotion-regulating support they need at their fingertips – even when they are on the move.
Meeting a growing need
Diagnoses of ASD, ADHD and Neurodiversity are increasing each year, with an estimated one in 20 children in Australia impacted by ADHD, and 2023 data from the NDIA suggesting one in 25 (four per cent) of seven-14-year-olds have a primary diagnosis of autism.
For Kirschner, combining two decades of experience as a psychologist with her lived experience as a mother on three neuro-mixed children was a direct inspiration for the My Magical Belt series.
Kirschner met Jones when sne engaged the experienced occupational therapist to work with one of her own children. The two women discussed the need for some kind of emotional regulation tool set for kids that was not only effective but also fun to use.
“My kids have been integral in influencing the scenarios in the books and have helped to make them so relatable to many kids,” Kirschner says.
Jones says she integrates the tools into her daily practice with “all learners, including those with ADHD and autism”.
“Kids readily connect with the ‘feelings volcano’ concept, fostering emotional awareness and empowerment in managing their emotions. I have seen significant improvements in their ability to regulate using these tools as brain breaks, concentration tools and coping mechanisms during learning and social experiences.”
Regulating emotions is not just for children
Kirschner says one commonly used calming tool for both adults and children is deep breathing.
“With the Bubble and Blow book, the bubble bottle tool encourages children to take a deep breath in and a long breath out,” she told EducationDaily.
“They love it because they make lots of bubbles, but it’s calming them at the same time. For adults who need to add a bit of calm to their own day, blowing a few bubbles is a fun distraction that can help defuse a stressful situation.”
She says she’s had one of her own children “suggest I spend some time playing with the squishy tool when they could see my volcano was almost erupting, showing me how the books and tools have helped them tune into others’ emotions as well”.
“Our household is much calmer these days.”
Similarly, another way to help manage emotions when they are about to erupt is through deep pressure – something Jones says can offer benefits to people of any age.
“The ‘stretch and squeeze’ squishy tool – kind of like a stress ball for kids – works on this principle. By squeezing and pulling the toy, children tighten their muscles and then release – and that helps let go of the physical tension they are feeling, and it tells the brain to relax,” she says.
The accompanying tool that comes with the Roll & Wriggle book is a soft dice with pictures that represent animal movement, including a crab, a snake and an elephant. By inviting the child to roll the dice and then mimic the movements of the animal that is rolled, the effect is a brain and movement break.
In occupational therapy vernacular, Jones says this is considered ‘heavy work movement’, which compresses major joints in the body, releasing chemicals that slow the body down and creates a parasympathetic nervous system response in the body. (Therapists will know this as proprioception and vestibular input.)
“It’s basically a tool for resetting and focusing,” Jones told EducationDaily.
To go with the Sparkle & Shake book, a sparkle disc uses visual distraction and a form of grounding to support the child. As the sparkles drift down the disc, the child’s body mimics the ‘falling’, reducing the heart rate so that the child begins to feel cemented in the world again.
Hands-on benefits
As an occupational therapist, Jones says the inspiration for the series came from seeing the benefits of similar tools first-hand.
“To achieve emotional balance a person needs both physiological balance and neurological balance,” she says.
“Learning these regulation skills early in life empowers children to independently manage their emotions and have the skills to cope throughout their life.”
And as the rate of families impacted by their children’s mental health concerns around anxiety, school refusal and other issues, Kirschner says the book series can help families frustrated by extensive waiting lists for therapy and diagnosis.
“These books are not a replacement for proper professional intervention, but if you can’t get your child in to see someone for months, they can help assist your child’s emotional growth and well-being in the meantime,” she says.
Both women believe that educators in Australian classrooms can also benefit from the book series, with school and kindergarten bundle sets available. While the young children enjoy hearing Ziggy’s adventures, Kirschner says accompanying notes written for parents and teachers help adults understand the best ways to utilise the stories and associated tools as part of practical strategies to help children manage and regulate their emotions.
With childhood well-being linked to positive outcomes including improved academic performance, economic stability, better social relationships and enhanced immune system (VicHealth, 2015), the women say that any tool that can help adults teach children to regulate their emotions is a positive – and, as a prep teacher at St Timonthy’s School, Vermont, Tricia McKinley agrees.
“My Magical Belt series of books and toolset had my students on the edge of their seats. They loved Ziggy and his adventures as he tried to deal with everyday life situations,” she says.
“They could relate to the problems and feelings expressed throughout the stories. The school bundle comes with great resources to use and aligns with our well-being programs.”
Volcanic emotions can be happy or sad
What’s important for both educators and parents to remember, says Kirschner is that volcanic emotions aren’t always obviously negative.
“Managing emotions isn’t just about managing the angry ones. It’s about regulating all the emotions and recognising that too much of any emotion – like extreme happiness that turns into hyper excitement – can also have an impact,” she says.
“By learning ways to better regulate what they are feeling and having access to their own special tool kit they can turn to when they need to feel safe and calm and relaxed, it helps them – and everyone around them too.”
