Healing Sands

22/01/2026

If your child seems “fine” one minute and flooded the next, you’re not imagining it — anxiety often builds quietly underneath the surface. Many children don’t have the words for what’s happening inside, so it shows up as worry, shutdown, clinginess, irritability, tummy aches, tears, or refusal. This list can help you spot the patterns earlier and respond with support instead of guessing.

If anxiety is taking over at home or school, my When Worries Take Over Toolkit gives you practical, brain-based tools to support your child through worry spirals and anxious moments. Link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

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

22/01/2026

21/01/2026

21/01/2026

Masking takes energy — the constant effort to seem ‘fine’ when the emotional brain is anything but.
Over time, that effort shows up as exhaustion, burnout, and shutdown.

When we understand why a child masks, we can start creating the safety they need to take the mask off.

Explore practical ways to support unmasking and emotional safety in Masking, the Toolkit, from The Contented Child via Linktree Store in Bio.

21/01/2026

🔥 😡 🫂 😊Emotions don’t need fixing; they need connection. From a co regulation standpoint, children and adults learn to manage big feelings when they feel seen, safe, and supported by a calm, caring presence. When we connect first, listening, validating, and staying regulated ourselves, we help their nervous system settle, which makes growth and problem solving possible later.

20/01/2026

We often forget it, but every thought or feeling we think happens in our mind is really a full-body experience. We’re somatic beings, which means our mind and body are always connected. That’s why stress and anxiety show up physically — in a sore stomach, tense shoulders or a racing heart.

The good news? If stress shows up in the body, we can also reverse the process. By using small actions to ‘trick’ your body into feeling calmer and more relaxed, your mind often follows.

Save this post for when you’re feeling stressed.

19/01/2026

When you ban screens as a consequence, it can feel like the quickest way to 'make the lesson stick'.

But for many young people (especially ND children), screens are a regulating tool — so removing them often ramps up overwhelm rather than reducing the behaviour.

Today’s post looks at why screen bans tend to backfire and what actually supports learning and regulation instead.

If you missed yesterday’s post on natural and logical consequences, it helps explain why consequences that don’t match the behaviour rarely lead to meaningful change.

Our Managing Big Feelings Toolkit is linked in the comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

19/01/2026

❤️ Sending hugs to everybody who heard words like this as a child. ❤️

Some sentences do not disappear. They grow roots.

Being told you are stupid, too sensitive, a problem, or a disappointment does not just hurt in the moment. It shapes how you see yourself, how safe emotions feel, and how you respond to stress, conflict, and relationships for the rest of your life.

Children believe adults. They do not hear “I am overwhelmed”. They hear “I am the problem”.

Shame does not teach behaviour. Fear does not build respect. It teaches silence, people pleasing, anger, or emotional shutdown.

Many adults are still carrying this. Over explaining. Apologising for existing. Struggling to set boundaries. Feeling responsible for other people’s emotions. This is not weakness. It is learned survival.

Most harm is not caused by cruelty. It is caused by stress, lack of support, and adults repeating what was done to them. But understanding this does not undo the impact.

Words from adults stick.
And changing the words changes the story.

If this resonates, you are not alone. And it is never too late to break the cycle.

Like the photo and comment "WORDS" and we will send you a message with a link to a free PDF of this resource.

17/01/2026

If you’ve noticed your child becoming more irritable, impatient, or “hooked” on screens, you’re not imagining it. Screens don’t just entertain – they rewire the brain’s reward pathways.
Here’s the cycle many children get stuck in… and why it becomes so hard to break without support.