Healing Sands

15/01/2026

FreeI HAVE ADHD, PLEASE KNOW THIS: POSTER

Comment "ADHD" and we will send you a message with a link to a free PDF of this resource.

Children with ADHD are often working much harder than it looks.

They can be creative, curious, and full of ideas, yet still struggle to stay focused, remember instructions, finish tasks, or cope with noise and pressure. This is not laziness. It is not a lack of effort. Many children with ADHD are trying their best every single day.

When adults understand how ADHD affects attention, emotions, behaviour, and energy levels, responses change. Criticism turns into support. Frustration turns into patience. Children feel safer, calmer, and more able to do well.

This free printable poster helps explain ADHD in a clear and compassionate way. It reminds adults that support is not special treatment, and that progress matters more than speed. It is a simple tool that can help children feel understood and respected at home, at school, and in everyday life.

14/01/2026

Supporting a child with inattentive ADHD at home can feel like living with constant “nearlys”…
Nearly ready. Nearly started. Nearly finished. Nearly listening.

And it’s exhausting — especially when your child wants to do the thing, but their brain keeps dropping the steps.

Inattentive ADHD often isn’t loud or chaotic on the outside… it’s quiet overwhelm on the inside. Forgetting, drifting off, losing things, struggling to start, getting stuck halfway through, then feeling awful about it.

This one-page visual is packed with practical home strategies to build real-life organisation skills (without the battles) AND protect your child’s self-esteem at the same time.

Because your child doesn’t need more pressure…
They need systems that do the remembering for them.

Save this for your next school morning, homework meltdown, or “where is my…?” moment. To SAVE, click on the image, tap the three dots, and choose Save.
If you’d like the girl version, comment GIRL below.

14/01/2026

Understanding the ‘Why’ Behind Self-Harm: Healthy vs Unhealthy Pathways

Self-harm can sometimes be misunderstood as simply attention-seeking or impulsive behaviour — but the truth is, it’s often linked to the body’s natural chemistry.

When a young person is overwhelmed emotionally, self-harm may become a coping strategy because it leads to the release of endorphins — the body’s feel-good chemicals — offering temporary relief from distress.

But there are healthier ways to access that same endorphin release, without causing harm.

This visual explores the difference between unhealthy and healthy endorphin pathways, helping to build awareness and support safer coping strategies. A version of this visual appropriate to use with young people is
in our CHASING ENDORPHINS, the SELF-HARM TOOLKIT (link in comments).

Let’s open the door to understanding, compassion and hope.

14/01/2026

13/01/2026

By the time many children get home from school, they are tired.

All day they may have been following rules, managing noise, coping with busy spaces, reading social cues, and holding in feelings so they can get through the day. Some children find this harder than others. Looking calm at school does not always mean school felt easy.

For many children, home is where their body finally relaxes. That is why big emotions, tears, shutdowns, or challenging behaviour can show up after school. Sometimes this is linked to stress or emotional overload. Sometimes it is about boundaries being tested. Often it is a mix of both.

What helps is pausing before reacting and asking what the behaviour might be telling us. Calm responses, clear boundaries, rest, and connection all matter.

Understanding what sits underneath behaviour helps adults respond more thoughtfully, without excusing behaviour or jumping straight to punishment.

Comment "SCHOOL" and we will send you a message with a link to a free PDF of this resource.

13/01/2026

Why constant reassurance keeps anxiety stuck

When a child is anxious, reassurance feels kind, necessary, and loving. Of course we want to tell them they’re safe. Of course we want the worry to stop.

But when reassurance comes every time anxiety shows up, the brain quietly learns something else:
“I can’t cope unless someone fixes this for me".

Over time, anxiety grows louder, not quieter. Worries need more reassurance, more often, and with more urgency — not because the child is difficult, but because their nervous system hasn’t had the chance to practise tolerance.

Support doesn’t mean withdrawing comfort. It means changing how we respond so the brain can learn, “This feeling is uncomfortable — and I can handle it.”

We break this down gently, step by step, inside our When Worries Take Over Toolkit — including what to say instead of reassurance and how to support anxious children without feeding the loop. 📎 link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

💬 Save this for later or share with someone who reassures because they care.

13/01/2026

SECOND CHANCE SUNDAY

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria can make everyday moments feel painfully personal for some children. A gentle correction, a missed invite, or a change in tone can be experienced as deep rejection rather than mild disappointment. This isn’t about being over-sensitive or dramatic — it’s about how the nervous system processes social threat.

RSD is commonly linked with neurodivergence, particularly ADHD and autism, where the brain is wired to notice differences, patterns, and social cues more intensely. For neurodivergent children, repeated experiences of feeling misunderstood, corrected, or ‘out of sync’ with expectations can heighten sensitivity to perceived rejection over time. Their reactions are not chosen; they are protective responses from a brain trying to stay safe.

When we understand rejection sensitivity through a neurodiversity-informed, brain-based lens, our response changes. Instead of focusing on behaviour alone, we begin to see the fear, shame, and overwhelm underneath. Support then shifts towards reducing threat, building emotional safety, and strengthening connection — rather than asking the child to simply cope better.

This visual is designed to support parents, carers, and educators to better understand what rejection sensitivity feels like for a child, why it shows up so strongly in neurodivergent children, and how we can respond in ways that protect self-esteem and emotional wellbeing.

13/01/2026

A Child’s Voice – After School, I Need You to Know
The Child Who Masks

Earlier today I shared the swan model.

The one that looks calm on the surface, gliding through the school day — while underneath, it’s paddling fast just to stay afloat.

This is that same child, speaking now.

When I come out of school, I’m not being “dramatic”.
I’m not suddenly difficult.
I’m not undoing all the good behaviour you were told about.

I’ve been holding it together all day.

I’ve pushed feelings down so I didn’t stand out.
I’ve copied others so I could fit in.
I’ve kept my stims small and hidden.
I’ve smiled when I didn’t feel OK.
I’ve tried to remember every rule so no one got cross.
I’ve ignored what felt too loud, too bright, too much.

And by the time I reach you, there’s nothing left in the tank.

What looks like defiance, tears, shutdown, or anger after school is often exhaustion from masking.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone — and neither is your child.

To SAVE, click on the image, tap the three dots, and choose Save.
If you’d like the boy version, comment BOY below.

My Masking Toolkit supports parents and educators to understand masking, recognise the hidden load, and reduce the pressure children carry just to be accepted. Link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

13/01/2026

Crunchy Mama 💗