See Brighter Days

12/25/2025

12/18/2025

Gatherings are meant to be joyful. And they also change everything for children and teens.

When homes fill with people, routines shift and emotions rise — especially for younger children. They need adults to lead them through the day, orient them to what’s happening, and stay close when things wobble. Without that leadership, kids often take matters into their own hands — not out of defiance, but because they’re overwhelmed and out of their regular structure and routine.

A little prevention goes a long way. Anticipating hot spots, staying flexible, and keeping adults in the mix helps everyone enjoy being together — even when plans change or emotions spill over.

This isn’t about perfection. It’s about leading with relationship when the house is full.

Save or share with the adults you gather with.

Happy holidays!

12/16/2025

12/09/2025

12/02/2025

11/30/2025

Whole Again ✨

"It's OK to take some time..." said the moon.
"We all need rest to feel whole again."

With love,
Stacey 🦊🌙

✨Words and illustrations taken from my hardcover book ‘Fox Under The Moon – Seasons of Comfort and Hope’

🍂 Order this book and more via the link in my bio, stories or here: https://www.foxunderthemoonart.com

💌 Email a screenshot of your order/pre-order of the book to info@foxunderthemoonart.com and I'll reply with links to your FREE download bundle!

11/21/2025

Have you ever noticed how your child can go from calm to explosive in seconds? Dan Siegel’s Upstairs / Downstairs Brain is a simple way to understand why.

The 'downstairs brain' is in charge of big emotions, survival instincts and staying safe. It reacts quickly – think fight, flight, freeze.

The 'upstairs brain' is where problem-solving, empathy, and reasoning live. It helps children make good choices, manage feelings, and connect with others.

But here’s the catch: children’s upstairs brains are still under construction. That means when emotions overwhelm, their downstairs brain often takes over.

This isn’t 'bad behaviour' – it’s biology. When we see it this way, we can respond with compassion, co-regulation, and strategies that help a young person move from downstairs to upstairs.
Resources to support educating a child around this model are available in our Resource Store.
EMOTIONS and MY BRAIN
This extensive resource pack based on Dan Siegel’s Upstairs and Downstairs Brain
helps and educates children and young people on the concept of the upstairs and downstairs brain can help them recognise how their own brain functions and develop strategies for self-regulation and emotional intelligence.
The pack comprises explainers, emotions scale resources, practical activities including upstairs and downstairs brain choices (behaviours), stress response, amygdala hijack, explainers for both adults and young people and activities to consolidate learning around parts of the brain and functions. Also includes 5 skin tone range of emotions.

Varying resources to suit ages 6-16yrs. Now also available as an 8 week intervention.
Electronic download available at link in comments or via our Linktree Shop in Bio.

FOLLOW for more posts in our series, When Worries Take Over.

11/15/2025

Go to Big Life to request the download

11/10/2025

When a young person is in meltdown, their nervous system has moved into survival mode.
This means the thinking, reasoning, language-based parts of the brain are offline.

So phrases like:
“Calm down.”
“You don’t need to be upset.”
“Use your words.”
or “Stop it.”
aren’t just unhelpful — they can intensify the overwhelm.

Not because the child is choosing not to listen —
but because they are not able to in that moment.

This post breaks down what not to say at each stage of the meltdown cycle:

• Escalation
• Crisis (the peak)
• Recovery (the Blue Phase)

Because the timing of our response matters just as much as the words we use.

If you want a deeper understanding of what’s happening in the brain during these stages — and how to support each phase with calm, connection and safety — you’ll find the full Timeline of a Meltdown resource via link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

FOLLOW for our next post - What to Say During a Meltdown

11/02/2025