Sunny Kids Shine Feelings Detectives

23/04/2026

Today I had a family session to create a ‘recipe for siblings.’ This activity is an adaptation of my ‘recipe for friendship’ activity. We also do a 'recipe for family,' as it's all about making and maintaining healthy and meaningful relationships. Including the relationship we have with ourselves. 💛

23/04/2026

Let's stop asking children to keep secrets...🤫

This conversation comes up a lot during my sessions, and the topic of keeping secrets can be really confusing for children. If the rules are confusing, they can't keep children safe, so here's how I make it simple, clear and easy for children to follow:

Surprises - these may be outings, events, presents, or treats, which are things to look forward to. We generally ask someone to keep a surprise from someone else to make it more exciting, and we only keep surprises for a short time. Even if it's a surprise for a child's parent, another adult will know, so the child is safe.

Something Special or Sacred - our friends may share something special with us that they don't want everyone to know about. If someone cares enough about us to share these things, then we should keep them in our hearts. We share our hearts with our loved ones, so the other child's parents and our parents should know about it. This keeps children safe.

Secrets - A secret is something meant to be kept hidden from others. Secrets are not safe.

The rule is that children should never be asked to keep anything from their safe adults. These include parents, teachers and other caregivers. It's an adult's job to keep children safe, and they can't do this if there are secrets. 💛

19/04/2026

What a lovely email to wake up to this morning🥰💛

17/04/2026

17/04/2026

Did you know that people with ADHD or Autism are more likely to have hypermobile joints? Hypermobility is also linked to a larger, more reactive amygdala, which is the brain's threat-detection centre, which increases anxiety, interoceptive sensitivity, and panic risk.

Having Hypermobility means their bodies are naturally more bendy or flexible, but not always in a fun way. It can actually make everyday life much harder. Hypermobility can impact your ability to:

Write
Use cutlery
Stand still or walk without pain
Use zips and buttons
Control your bladder
Balance
Digest food
Avoid sprains and injuries

People may laugh, brush it off, or be amazed by the flexibility, but for the child hypermobility is often an invisible disability that is debilitating and very misunderstood causing:

Chronic fatigue
Joint pain, clicking and discomfort
Acid reflux
Dislocations or subluxations
Anxiety
Panic
Emotional Overload

In addition to all this, key connections between Hypermobility and the Amygdala mean:

Increased Anxiety and Panic - A larger amygdala with increased reactivity contributes to a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and general emotional reactivity in hypermobile individuals.

Interoception and Threat - Hypermobile individuals often have higher interoceptive sensitivity (internal bodily signals), leading to a "finer-tuned" threat-detection system that may misinterpret bodily changes as anxiety or danger.

Brain Connectivity - Those with Hypermobility often exhibit stronger functional connectivity between the amygdala and the precuneus, a brain region involved in attention and self-awareness, which further amplifies the feeling of anxiety.

Hypermobility needs to be better understood, especially in childhood, and children need appropriate support through:

Physical therapy
Occupational therapy
Medical support
Mental Health and Wellbeing Support
Suitable accommodations

Please help spread awareness and ensure children get the right support and understanding at the very earliest opportunity 💛

16/04/2026

Every time you catch yourself worrying that your child might be “too sensitive,” pause and remember this: it’s a beautiful thing that it doesn’t take much for them to do the most human thing possible, to feel deeply, openly, and honestly. In a world that often encourages people to toughen up and shut down, their softness is not a weakness. It’s something rare, something meaningful, something worth protecting. 💛

15/04/2026

Why the "Out of Control" Feeling is so scary...

For this child, anger isn't just a feeling; it’s a physical takeover. When that surge of adrenaline hits, their "thinking brain" goes offline, and their "survival brain" takes the wheel.

Imagine being small and suddenly having a "monster" take over your hands, your voice, and your face. As the enormity of the emotion slowly passes, they look back at their behaviour with confusion or shame, because they didn't choose it, they weren't in control.

They see the adults’ reactions, the shock, the frustration, the disappointment, and it reinforces their fear that this version of themselves is "dangerous, naughty, or bad. This creates a loop: I’m scared of my anger, so I try to hide it, which makes the feeling even more intense, leading to an eventual explosion that's even bigger.

Think of it like a beach ball being pushed underwater. It takes a massive amount of energy to keep it submerged. The deeper you push it, the more violently it pops back up to the surface.

When we tell a child to "calm down" or "stop crying," we are asking them to hold their breath underwater. Eventually, their arms get tired, and the ball flies into the air, hitting everything in its path.

Before a child can manage a feeling, they must first learn to accept and tolerate it. No matter how big and uncomfortable it may get. This is the core of helping them become a "Feelings Detective."

Instead of teaching children to stop feeling angry, we help them learn how to Notice, Accept, Manage, and Express (NAME) their feelings in healthy ways, no matter what. Because everyone has BIG feelings sometimes, even grown-ups. It’s a part of being human. We just don't want them too often as they don't feel good on the inside.

"You can’t steer the ship until you’re brave enough to stand on the deck during the storm."

Once the fear of the feeling is gone, the learning can take place, and the explosiveness of emotion often diminishes. He no longer has to fight the feeling; he just has to let it flow through him as he slowly steers the ship to calmer water. 🌊💛

14/04/2026

These "cool down" cubes made a wonderful addition to a whole class Feelings Volcano session today.

During the lesson we discussed how sometimes a BIG feeling comes because of a build up of lots of little emotions all quietly piling up under the surface until our bodies, (no matter what age or size) can't take anymore and erupt with emotions like anger, sadness, overwhelm or panic. Sometimes these feelings can also lead us to shut down, withdraw and go within.

BIG feelings show up differently in each of us and everyone has them, even I do and I'm known as 'The Feelings Lady.' We just don't want to have them very often as they don't feel very good on the inside.

Through our Feelings Detective curriculum, children learn how to N. A. M. E. their feelings in healthy ways, which stands for Notice, Accept, Manage and Express. 💛

14/04/2026

Another child ready to SHINE to school this week 🫶

Our holistic, person-centred approach is what makes us different and ensures lasting impact, with strong, secure foundations to truly change the future of mental health.

Our award-winning program supports staff, pupils and families to work together. reducing anxiety, improving mental health and well-being, and creating a more emotionally enabling environment for everyone. All while using an evidence-based, trauma-informed, and neurodiversity-affirming approach.

Sunny Kids SHINE in education, in the community and in the comfort of your own home. For further information on any of our services, please visit the website and get in touch to book your free initial consultation today 💛

13/04/2026

I’m currently working with a young person who is feeling completely overwhelmed. Not because they’re weak, but because they’ve been strong for too long in the wrong way.

For a long time, they pushed their feelings aside. Ignored them. Distracted themselves and tried to stay “fine.” Unfortunately, feelings don’t disappear when we avoid them. They wait, they build, and get louder until they eventually demand to be seen and heard.

Suddenly, everything this young person once avoided is rising to the surface all at once. Just as they're about to start their exams.

It feels messy, intense and uncomfortable, but it’s also a huge turning point, because this is what it can look and feel like when someone finally stops running. When they realise they don't have to hide or hold on to all this emotion anymore and when they are ready to finally learn to let go.

While facing them can seem overwhelming at first, it’s also where the magic begins. Freedom doesn’t come from avoiding what we feel. It comes from learning to sit with it, understand it, and move through it, because feelings need to be felt, not fixed, and truly listened to before they can be released.

We help make BIG feelings child-size, helping children of all ages, across the UK learn how to N.A.M.E. their feelings in healthy ways, which stands for Notice, Accept, Manage and Express. Get in touch to book a free initial consultation. 💛

12/04/2026

Today I saw a moment between a parent and child that stopped me in my tracks...

I was swimming with my daughter and could see a boy with Autism near us incredibly upset and overwhelmed. His mum came to comfort him and it was like everything paused.

In that moment she blocked out the noise, the lights, the commotion, even the waves of the water..

It reminded me of the song "quiet" in Matilda which are the lyrics below. In the film Matilda didn't have a safe person for co-regulation when she was growing up and that's when she had to learn to look after herself and find her own magic within.

This mums aim wasn't to calm her son down.

It was to calm the world down around him and inside him until he felt safe, settled and secure again. No matter what it took or how long it took.

This is the true magic of co-regulation. 💛

07/04/2026

It’s not easy for us or our children to stay calm all the time. You won’t be able to do it, and that’s okay. It lets your children know that you’re human and we all struggle with BIG feelings sometimes. The important part is how you repair and reconnect after. Rupture is inevitable, it's the repair that matters 💛