Doing a sheet
Watch the episode together first: scan the code on Sheet 1, or visit pipsfeelingsclub.com. Pick a calm time, about 10 minutes. Never use a sheet as a consequence. You read the comic, your child does the pens. If they get frustrated, skip the hard bit and come back later. Finish with a play card. If they're getting cloudy and need to move: "Push the wall with me. Count to five."
What to talk about
Sheet
Ask them
Do together
Feelings Weather
"What makes you cloudy at school?"
"What does your body do first?"
"What happened just before the storm?"
Tell them about a time you got stormy and what you did.
Rainbow Breathing
"What could your hands do instead?"
"Which grown-up can you go to at school?"
"What could you say if someone takes your thing?"
Act it out with toys. A unicorn takes a bird's toy, and your child coaches them.
Not Yet!
"What can you do now that you couldn't last year?"
"What do you say to yourself when it goes wrong?"
"What would you tell a friend who made that mistake?"
Show them an oops of yours and how you fixed it. Count stars, not right answers.
When they're stormy
1. "You're really cross. I'm here."
2. If they go to hit, gently hold their hands: "I won't let you hit."
3. Stop talking. Stay close until it passes.
Afterwards, once they're calm
"What weather was that?"
"What could you try next time?"
"How do you think your friend feels? How can we make it right?"
When they don't get their way
"You really wanted that. It's hard when the answer's no." Then keep the no.
Warn them before changes: "Five more minutes, then shoes."
When they're hard on themselves
"That's annoying when it goes wrong."
Then: "You can't do it yet. What could you try?"
Agree with the feeling before you fix it.
Catch them doing it well
"I saw you take a breath before you answered."
"You kept going when it got tricky."
"You asked for help. That was smart thinking."
Try to avoid
"Calm down." "It's nothing to cry about."
"Why did you do that?" in the middle of a storm.
Changing the answer after a meltdown.
Share the words with their teacher. See the GP sooner if it's escalating, other kids are getting hurt or avoiding them, or they say things like "I hate myself."
Based on Raising Children Network's calm-down steps and emotion coaching.