Blog 2 of 2: Creative Ways to Help Children Shift Big Feelings

Once your child has recognised a feeling and identified where it lives in their body, the next step is helping them gently shift it — when they’re ready.

This isn’t about “fixing” or getting rid of emotions. It’s about giving children tools to manage emotional intensity, build confidence, and stay connected to their sense of inner safety.

And when you use playfulness and imagination, it can even be fun.

Transform the Feeling with Creative Visualisation

Let’s say your child says:

“I have a big, brown, swirling circle in my tummy.”

You might respond:

“Can you make it a different colour? A colour you like. What colour is it now?”

Then gently invite more changes:

• “Can you make it smaller — so small you can hardly see it?”

• “Can you make it stop swirling?”

• “What shape would you like it to be now?”

You might notice their body relax or their breathing slow. These are signs that the feeling has shifted.

If they say it hasn’t changed, that’s okay too — just try something different.

Taken from "Scaredy Bear's Courageous Tale" by Rebecca Bishop, part of the E-motions Book Series

Play with the Details

Here are some more creative prompts:

• Change the sound: Use a silly voice (I like using my Donald Duck voice!) to help it sound less scary.

• Change the message: Ask, “What would it like to say instead?” or “What would a kind friend say to it?”

• If it’s heavy: Ask them to imagine it’s tied to a balloon or floating cloud.

• If it’s moving: Ask them to slow it down, or move it gently out of their body.

• If it’s still: Suggest it grows wings, hops on a rocket, or flies away in a parachute.

This part is all about creativity and trust. Some children will want to draw the feeling’s transformation.

Others will imagine it all in their minds. There’s no right or wrong way.

Emotional Labelling and Letting Go

As you work through these changes, it’s also helpful to keep naming the emotion:

• “You were feeling scared — and now it sounds like it’s changed.”

• “I can see how you shifted that angry feeling into something softer.”

Reinforcing this helps children see they’re capable of regulating their emotions.

I often remind children that every feeling comes for a reason — and it just wants to be seen and felt.

When we give it attention, it can gently move on.

Why I Created the E-motions Series

All of this emotional work inspired me to create the E-motions activities, flashcards, and children’s stories — designed to support little ones as they explore their inner world.

With my 16 E-Motions characters, as well a the book characters, Scaredy Bear, Sad Seal, Wilma the Worried Worm, and George the Jealous Giraffe, I help children see that emotions are normal, and that they’re not alone in what they feel.

Here’s an extract from the end of the book Scaredy Bear’s Courageous Tale — a simple rhyme that helps children let go of fear:

“Want to know the quickest way to heal?Notice in your body how it makes you feel.Take a few deep breaths, long and slow.You’ll start to feel lighter as you let fear go.”

A Final Thought

We can’t (and shouldn’t) shield children from emotions like fear, sadness, or anger.

But we can teach them to befriend their feelings, understand them, and gently shift them when the time is right.

That’s where resilience begins — and that’s where the magic happens.

To learn more about the E-motions stories and tools, visit rebeccabishop.org.uk