Short days and long nights. Heavy coats and soggy mittens. Another cold day cooped up inside. The chaos of the holidays bleeds into a residual letdown as we try to help our little ones re-establish some semblance of routine. January threatens to bring with it a dreaded case of the Winter Blahs! The good news is, the Winter Blahs are beatable, and Heartland Academy can help! With familiar routines, friendly faces, creativity, and movement, together we can kiss those Blahs goodbye and start enjoying the gift of winter. In this article, you’ll learn how to spot the signs in your little one and be equipped to keep those blahs at bay!

Symptoms of the Blahs

As you can probably tell, “winter blahs” is not a technical term, and it doesn’t really look like its grown-up counterpart: Seasonal Affect Disorder. Instead, if your toddler or preschooler is experiencing the Blahs, you may notice them exhibiting some of the following:

• Extra meltdowns
• Low energy or restlessness
• Trouble focusing 
• Increased Clinginess

It’s no wonder our little ones are struggling. Research shows that decreased sunlight and outdoor play, along with disrupted routines, really takes a toll on young children. But there are many ways we can help meet our children’s needs during this dark season, while also responding to their “symptoms” with empathy. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to give your kiddo a big hug and say, “Me too, buddy! I sure do miss the sun!” Then you are ready to collaborate on some fun ways to embrace what the season has to offer.

 

How to beat the Blahs

1. Get Moving!

One of the most important ways to beat the winter blahs is to get moving, even when it’s cold out. Cold weather has a way of slowing us down. Sometimes, it’s really wonderful to embrace the natural rest Winter seems to be inviting us into. More on that later. But little bodies need to move!! It’s important to get children outside, even when it’s cold. Nothing beats the Blahs like sunlight – even from behind a cloud – mixed with a little fresh air. So bundle your kids up and let them run and play in the yard. Take a nature walk and collect pinecones for a craft back at the house. Observe the birds and scatter birdseed. If it’s snowing, build a snowman, go sledding, or make snow cream. You won’t regret it!

Indoor play can also be active without being chaotic or disruptive. Even 15 minutes of a dance party or running through an obstacle course will help tire out young kids. Building, or rebuilding, the obstacle course can take even longer and is a great work out for bodies and imaginations! Kid Yoga is another wonderful way to exercise little bodies and minds. As children seek to accomplish and hold different poses, they will have fun, get exercise, and gain focus. This is a much calmer way of accomplishing indoor movement, and is good for moms and dads, too! At Heartland, we offer many opportunities for indoor and outdoor play to keep your kid stimulated throughout every season.

2. Brighten the Environment

It’s no secret that light dispels darkness, so finding ways to brighten your environment during the dark winter months is essential! At home, this may mean opening all the window blinds to let in natural light, turning on extra lights in the house, or decorating your home with pops of color to brighten dull days. Another great way to brighten the environment is by rotating your child’s toys. This helps keep their interest alive. By limiting what books or toys are available to them each week, play items feel new and become more appealing, holding their attention longer. At Heartland, we love organizing our weeks around a theme. You can do this at home as well by clustering like books and toys, even movies, together. Popular themes with preschoolers include animals, dinosaurs, and outer space. Having an occasional weekly theme gives them something to look forward to and helps them organize information as they learn.

3. Create Winter Joy

The key word here is “create!” Children process their emotions best through open-ended play, so providing opportunities for them to be creative and expressive is a fantastic way to send those winter blahs away. Which of the following activities sparks your interest? Which ones do you think your children would get excited about?

1. Make a sensory bin with rice, snow, and other objects

2. Provide items for pretend play (think winter animals, cozy cabins, and coffee shops)

3. Simple science experiments like melting ice

4. Create crafts with recycled objects that are more about the process than the product. Grab some cotton balls, paint, paper, toilet paper tubes, recycled food containers, scraps of paper or fabric, and let your kids explore winter with their imaginations.

5. Make birdseed ornaments for the winter birds. 

4. Cozy Up

At the end of the day, everyone loves embracing the cold by bundling up in a cozy blanket, by a warm fire, cuddled up with the ones we love. As much as we all need light and movement during our winter days, the longer nights are an invitation for deeper rest and connection. Preschoolers love the opportunity to slow down and spend extra snuggle time with Mom and Dad. You and your child can choose how you want to spend those sweet hours of close connection. Perhaps you will enjoy a good book together, take in a movie, or work on a puzzle. Creating warm meals or treats in the kitchen and sharing them together at the family table or by a warm fire is another great way to embrace the comfort, connection and simple joys of the season. 

 

Bye Bye Blahs, Hello Winter Fun!

So there you have it! Winter doesn’t have to seem like an endless night waiting for the light of spring. Whether your child is at Heartland or at home, they can learn to find and experience the unique delights Winter has to offer as they get outside and play in the brisk air, get creative with indoor play, and enjoy the rest and connection of longer winter nights. Winter doesn’t mean pushing pause on learning or fun, it’s an opportunity to try something new. So say goodbye to those Winter Blahs, and hello to Winter Fun!

Last month, we focused on teaching our children the importance of gratitude. Often, we assume the values we want our children to have are inherent- either they possess them, or they don’t! But we have learned that simply isn’t true. Values are taught and caught, but children are not born with them. This is good news, because it means

our little ones can continue to learn and grow in these important areas of character development. I can’t help but notice how the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas lend themselves naturally to teaching our children gratitude and generosity. In fact, having an attitude of gratitude is the very thing that fosters generosity during the “season of giving!” When our children learn to be grateful for all that they have, they squash a spirit of entitlement and feel prompted to share, knowing their resources aren’t scarce. As the Christmas season comes to a close, let’s continue to foster a spirit of generosity in our preschoolers that will last all year! In this article, we will explore what generosity looks like in preschoolers, how to help it grow, and why it’s an important foundation for your child’s early development!

What does generosity look like in preschoolers?

So what does generosity actually look like in your preschooler? Well, it doesn’t usually show up in grand gestures like you imagine, but you will find it showing up in small and simple acts of kindness that make a lasting impact. For example,

• Sharing her toys or craft supplies
• Taking turns without being prompted
• Helping a friend or sibling clean up
• Offering comfort to someone
• Participating in group problem-solving

When you see your child doing any of these things, they are engaging in generosity, which is closely related to empathy development! Between the ages of 3-5, your preschoolers ability to feel and express empathy is really amping up, so be on the look out for these beautiful expressions of kindness and consider the following ways to grow generosity in your child.

How does it grow?

As I mentioned before, generosity isn’t instinctual in children, it’s learned! That means there are things you can do to help your child learn and grow in this area. Here are three simple steps you can use to teach your child how to be generous in word and deed!

 

1. Model Generosity

You  may be familiar with the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do,” but all of us know that doesn’t work. Children learn best by watching trusted adults model the type of character we want them to have. At Heartland, we always try to model kindness and generosity with our words and actions, and we know you do too! Consider small ways you might encourage your child to share, like bringing extra snacks to the zoo, or toys to a playdate, that they can share with friends. This helps your child “plan” for generosity. Children tend to be more generous when they have a choice in what they share and when they share it. 

 

2. Name the feeling

When it comes to teaching young children, literacy is about much more than reading. We also teach our children emotional literacy to help them understand how their actions affect others. When you see your child behave generously toward another child or adult, praise them with rich emotional language like, “You shared your blocks! That helped your friend feel happy!” Or, “I see you noticed she needed help. That was kind of you to step in.” Naming emotions helps build empathy in your little one, which is a building block towards generosity. Additonally, it is helpful to focus your praise on the generous behavior and not on the child. For example, instead of saying, “You are so nice,” say, “I saw how you noticed that little girl was alone and you sat with her. That was very kind.” This helps the child understand what she did and why it mattered.

 

3. Practice, practice, practice

If generosity is learned, that means it must be practiced over time! At Heartland, there are plenty of opportunities for your child to practice generosity as they have shared experience with their classmates. They will participate in class games, group projects and shared mealtimes, where sharing and caring will become second nature! You can help create other opportunities for growing generosity outside of the classroom as well. Think of ways you might encourage your preschooler to consider others when they are playing with siblings or having a playdate with friends. Is there a lonely or elderly neighbor they may bring joy to, or a grandparent that might need a little help? It’s likely your little one is eager to be a big helper, and you can help create those positive opportunities. The more opportunities your child has to be generous, the more likely he or she will want to continue in generosity.

Stories as “Gardening Tools”

As you seek to grow generosity in the hearts of your preschoolers, consider reading stories about kindness and compassion. Stories are powerful tools to teach generosity and help children explore emotions and consequences in safe and relatable ways. There are many wonderful books to choose from, but “Kindness is my Superpower,” along with the “My Superpower Values” box set by Alicia Ortega, are great ones to start with. 

 

Growing Generosity Take Time

Remember, just like anything else that grows, growing generosity in preschoolers takes time, and that’s okay! Preschoolers are still learning impulse control and emotional regulation, so sharing won’t be perfect, and it doesn’t need to be. At Heartland, we love partnering with parents as they plant seeds of kindness, water them with encouragement and modeled behavior, and wait for generosity to take root. Because growing generosity isn’t just about taking turns, it’s about shaping kind and compassionate humans for the future! If you’d like to learn more about how your child can grow at Heartland, we’d love to help you book a tour today!

 

Christmastime is a magical time full of lights, music, good food and extra time with friends and family. Experiencing Christmastime through a child’s eyes is especially joyful as they take in all the wonder the season has to offer. Part of you is probably reliving some of your favorite holiday childhood memories through your own children. With all the joy Christmas brings, have you ever wondered why your toddler or preschooler seems particularly out of sorts? The frequent meltdowns might be leading you to add one special thing to the top of your Christmas list: a calm child. But you won’t need Santa or even Christmas magic to make this Christmas wish come true. With a few intentional tweaks to your holiday plans you can truly experience a season that is “calm and bright.”

How to have a Calm Child by Christmas

The countdown is on! We are a week away from Christmas, and that means there is still time to have a calm child before the magical morning arrives! Young children thrive on predictability. While Christmas brings with it a lot of fun, it also brings major disruptions to your child’s typical rhythms. Holiday parties, visitors and decorations may mean extra sugar, late nights, and increased sensory input. Consistent routines help regulate your child’s stress responses, but the regular shifts in these routines to accommodate holiday festivities can overload your little one’s nervous system. Consider the ways chaos may be creeping into your holiday plans this season, and feel empowered to make choices that help create calm for you and your whole family!

Choose Calm over Chaos

One of the number one stressors for kids during the holidays is experiencing their parents’ stress. Did you know young children are incredibly in-tune to our emotions, and they experience them with us? That means, if you are stressed, they are stressed too. Adults often feel pressure to “do it all,” during the Christmas season. But the best gift we can give our children is Calm. It turns out that while chaos is contangious, so is calm! Give yourself permission to choose carefully what events you will participate in over the next week, and which you will leave behind to make sure everyone is feeling regulated. This may mean ditching traditions that don’t serve you anymore or buying less to decrease the financial pinch this year.

Keep the routine (mostly) sacred

You don’t have to cancel all the holiday fun, but anchoring the day or week with familiar routines goes a long way. Keep meal times, rest times and transitions as consistent as possible. If you have to stay out late for one special activity this season, consider what the recovery time will be like. Back to back parties or late nights are almost always a recipe for meltdowns. Consider leaving a party early to maintain your child’s bedtime routine and create wind-down time for yourself. Perhaps your child loves staying out late but is a grinch the next day. Have you built on rest on the other side of the festivities? These rhythms will help regulate little hearts, minds and bodies in the midst of all the festivities.

Channel the energy, don’t fight it!

When your preschooler is feeling overstimulated by all the Christmas magic, moving their body is actually a great way to channel that energy! While it’s tempting to ask them to sit still and be calm, keep in mind that movement is actually the key to accessing that calm. Here at Heartland, we like to get creative with the Christmas-themed activities that get your little one moving, and you can incorporate these fun activities at home, as well!

1. Consider creating a “reindeer games” obstacle course in your basement.
2. Play “freeze dance” to Christmas songs in just about any room in the house! Put on your favorite holiday tunes, let the kids wiggle, and when you push pause, they FREEZE until you start the music again.
3. Another fun game is the Santa Sack bean bag toss. Let your kids practice tossing bean bags into a bucket, or hitting a target you create on the floor with tape or paper squares.
4. And we mustn’t forget hugs! Giving great big holiday squeezes help release tension and release feel-good endorphins to calm your kiddo!

Teach Emotions Alongside Festivities

Children experience big emotions around the holidays like anticipation, disappointment, and overstimulation. But they often lack the language to express them. The month of December offers an incredible opportunity to teach social-emotional regulation to your children, which is foundational to early childhood development. If you want to foster a calm spirit in your preschooler, look for books that teach children about waiting and patience like, “I’ll wait, Mr. Panda.” Use visuals like an emotion wheel to help your child develop language around what they are feeling. If your child is feeling particularly overstimulated, consider leading them through a simple breathing exercise like “smell the cocoa,” where they take a deep breath through their nose and imagine smelling a warm cup of hot chocolate, and “blow out the candle.” Prompt your child to blow out through his mouth like he is blowing out a Christmas candle. You may be surprised how taking just 15-30 seconds can help reset your little one and have them back enjoying all the fun this season has to offer.

Less Chaos, More Magic

If all you want for Christmas is a calm child, you’re not alone! Adjusting the holiday schedule doesn’t mean eliminating joy, it means protecting it! We at Heartland are committed to partnering with you to create calm and festive experiences for your children. As we work together to prioritize routines, teach emotional regulation, and create intentional fun, children can experience the holidays as fun instead of overwhelming. And that’s a real gift. We have found that the best memories are not made in chaos, but in spaces where children feel safe, understood, and just festive enough. Wishing you and your family the happiest- and calmest- holiday season! If you are interested in joining us here at Heartland after the New Year,  with us today!

If you haven’t already noticed, a lot is going on in your preschooler’s mind, leading to rapid cognitive, emotional and social development between the ages of 2 and 5! It’s an exciting time that can feel like a wild ride. One specific aspect of growth you may see happening is your child’s ability to pay attention. You may also feel like it’s not happening fast enough, as your child’s attention span is short and they struggle to sit still for long. The science behind your preschooler’s developing attention is fascinating, and understanding it might help you keep your cool while you wait for your child to develop longer stretches of calm and focus.

What’s Happening in Those Busy Brains?

 We at Heartland know that Preschoolers are not just learning letters and numbers—they’re developing the foundations of attention itself. Researchers often break attention into three types: Sustained attention, Selective attention and Executive attention, and all three are rapidly evolving between the ages of 3 and 5, making the preschool years critical! So what are these three types of attention and how do they develop in your preschooler?

Sustained attention is one’s ability to stay focused over time. Research shows that attention span increases with age and practice. For example, your 3-year-old may be able to sustain attention for 5-10 minutes, while your 5-year-old can mange 15 minutes of focused attention, depending on their interest. 

Selective attention is the ability to tune out distractions. This means your child can focus on a task, even when other things are going on around him.

Executive attention is about managing impulses and intentionally shifting one’s focus from one thing to another. 

All of these areas are in rapid flux during the preschool years because the prefrontal cortex of the brain, responsible for focus and impulse control, is undergoing a major growth spurt! It’s important to keep in mind, then, that attention is something that grows over time, not something your child innately has or does not have. So, how do we help our children gain these important attention skills? The answer might surprise you, and Heartland can help!

How Preschoolers Actually Learn to Pay Attention

There are four key aspects to building your child’s attention span: Play, their Bodies, Interest and Relationship. Let’s take a look at each of these aspects to understand how your preschooler actually learns to pay attention.

Pretend Play

Studies have shown that pretend play that is child-led and open-ended actually improves executive function, especially attention control. That’s why at Heartland we provide large amounts of time for children to free-play, create, and use their imaginations! Maria Montessori said that “play is the work of the child,” and you may also say that kids need to “pretend, to pay attention!”

Bodies Lead Brains

No doubt you have sat back and marveled at the not-stop energy of your preschooler at some point. Their bodies seem to be in continuous motion, and this is often seen as an inability to focus. But the truth is, preschoolers learn through motion, not stillness. Their bodies lead their brains. Research shows that physical activities actually help to increase attention. At Heartland we utilize music with motion, incorporating fun activities like freeze dance or acting out as animals. Yoga positions are a great way to incorporate fun and motion that lead to focus. While we practice sitting still for short periods of time, we encourage standing, kneeling and wiggling, because this is how little ones learn. You can incorporate these busy body ideas at home, as well!

Interest is the Engine of Attention

Here’s the simple truth. Preschoolers can focus deeply– when they care. Isn’t that true for most of us? Research shows that intrinsic motivation leads to greater focus in early childhood. Our job as parents and educators is to get them interested and keep them interested! Here are few simple ways to do that:

• Rotate toys and books based on your child’s current fascinations.

• Incorporate their names, stories, or favorite animals into everyday talk.

• Offer choice whenever possible!

The good news is, preschool children are naturally curious, like little scientists. They notice things we miss and make amazing connections. It doesn’t take much to get them and keep them interested. Just show interest in what they are interested in, and you can feel good about contributing to their growing ability to focus.

Relationships Matter
Studies have also shown that preschoolers exhibit stronger attention and persistence when they are guided by warm, responsive caregivers. This is true for a few reasons. As caregivers, we model for our preschoolers what attention looks like. Remember, attention doesn’t come naturally, it is learned. We teach them how to pay attention when we use gentle cues like: “Let’s look with our eyes” or “Listen for the quiet sound.” We can also use visual timers, and give them small tasks, broken down into manageable steps.

Additionally, we teach them attention by teaching emotional regulation. It has been said that a calm brain can pay attention, but an anxious brain cannot. This is because attention and emotional regulation share the same cognitive system. By teaching our preschoolers to regulate their emotions and bodies, they are learning to pay attention! We can do this by offering cozy corners to calm down, by teaching them to breathe (smell the flower, blow out the candle), and by teaching them to pay attention when they are feeling big emotions and need to use a calming technique. 

How Heartland Can Help

As you can see, attention doesn’t develop by magic, it’s shaped by your child’s environment. At Heartland, we play a powerful role in strengthening your child’s attention by offering predictable routines, social learning opportunities, varied and structured activities, and supportive relationships for your preschooler. 

The classroom schedule aids in your child’s attention because children focus better when they know what to expect! You can create simple but meaningful routines at home that will also be effective brain boosters. Additionally, watching friends concentrate serves as an incentive for your child to model focused behavior. There is nothing quite like positive peer pressure to foster growth! We also offer all kinds of play- sensory, dramatic, outdoor, fine-motor-, which is the powerhouse for paying attention, and helps to develop all types of attention skills. Lastly, our skilled educators create scaffolding for your children to learn through verbal prompts, visual cues, and movement breaks.

Attention is a Growing Superpower

Now we know that attention isn’t just about sitting still—it’s about helping children build the internal tools to explore, wonder, and learn. Preschoolers  through connection, curiosity, and play, and the preschool experience is at the heart of that growth.

We can’t wait to collaborate with you to create environments that nurture focus and turn daily routines into magical moments of brain development! Book a tour today!

 

Let’s face it. Teaching toddlers to be thankful is a bit like teaching tiny turkeys. After all, before the age of 4 or 5, children are pretty ego-centric. Two year olds are known for playing side-by-side and have little ability to see things through someone else’s eyes. That’s why they snatch toys and have difficulty sharing. But between ages of 3 and 4 we see major progress in their social skills. As perspective-taking develops, so does their capacity for gratitude.

Why Gratitude?

Here at Heartland, we know that preschool is about more than the ABC’s and 123’s. In fact, the most important part of a preschooler’s development is social! Teaching our children thankfulness has many benefits, beyond being little people with nice manners. Studies have shown that preschoolers that experience gratitude are more likely to help others, even strangers. They are also more likely to share! Children who express their gratitude also tend to be more emotionally regulated and have better self-esteem. Lastly, learning to practice and experience gratitude contributes to long-term character development, and produces children who become more thoughtful and kind adults.

What does Gratitude look like for preschoolers?

Teaching our tiny turkeys thankfulness is about more than saying, “thank you,” but that is where it all begins. Gratitude in early childhood can feel a little bit like “fake it til you make it.” We begin teaching our literal and concrete thinkers how to behave. This looks like modeling thankfulness with our own words and actions and teaching them to do the same. Many of us have probably prompted our children to express their thanks to someone with the phrase, “What do you say?” But as our children’s minds continue to develop at a rapid pace during the preschool years, so will their capacity for true gratitude. Their ability to feel and express gratitude is directly linked to their growing awareness of other’s thoughts and feelings. This understanding takes time. It is important to remember that gratitude is not innate- it develops. So keep prompting, modeling and encouraging, and you will have tiny thankful turkeys before you know it!

How do I teach my turkey to be thankful?

We’ve already addressed the foundation for teaching thankfulness to toddlers and preschoolers- prompting, modeling and encouraging. But there are a few other ways we can help our children develop hearts of gratitude that are both simple and creative. 

Storytime with a Purpose

Stories are a great way to help children think and learn about gratitude. So snuggle up together with a good book or movie, and then spark the conversation! “How did the character feel when someone helped him?” “What can he do to express his thankfulness?” This connects the narrative to both gratitude and empathy.

Gratitude Rituals

Young children love a good routine! Lean into their preference for ritual to create regular gratitude practices together. Consider making a Thankfulness corkboard where they can write or draw things they are thankful for and post it on the board. You may also choose to create a thankfulness jar, which works in a similar way. The purpose is in the pause. Take time each day to reflect on what you are thankful for, and revisit the jar or board when hearts of gratitude shift towards entitlement.

Celebrate Thankfulness

Children thrive in our praise. When your tiny turkey practices gratitude, be sure to celebrate! Say something like, “I saw how you shared with your friend when she needed a toy. That was so kind!” Pointing out your child’s kindness reinforces the value of gratitude because it shows they are thinking of others. You can also encourage your child to express gratitude through small acts of kindness like making a card for a friend or giving a hug.

What other ways can you think of to help teach thankfulness? 

Gratitude Grows

Remember, gratitude grows, and growing takes time. If your child forgets to say thank you or shows more discontentment or entitlement, don’t scold. Instead, use these moments as opportunities to teach them how to shift their focus towards gratitude. Even we adults need help with this sometimes. But, the more we practice, the better we get at focusing on what we have instead of what we lack. Your children will need lots of practice to grow in gratitude, and missteps will abound! Practice patience, and revel in the tiny victories! 

Here at Heartland, we love partnering with parents to help nurture the seeds of gratitude being planted  in your children. We seek to provide a loving, positive and nurturing environment where your children will grow to be happy, healthy, grateful learners for years to come. As you prepare for the season of Peace and Joy, we hope you will find many small moments to teach and experience thankfulness as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bedtime fears are a universal rite of passage for young children—and yes, even monsters under the bed have their moment! Helping children navigate these nighttime worries isn’t just sweet—it’s profoundly developmental.

Imaginary fears, like monsters hiding in the shadows, are tied to typical developmental stages. Preschoolers’ vivid imaginations often fuel these fears, and with gentle guidance, they naturally fade as your child grows. This is a normal milestone—and a great opportunity to nurture emotional resilience. 

Establishing Emotional Resilience

At Heartland Academy, we understand how little minds work! We love to help children conquer their fears, which stretch far beyond monsters under the bed. Below are some important things to know to help your little one move through nighttime fears, and some daytime fears, too!

1. Validate First—Don’t Dismiss

One of the most important ways to help children overcome their fears, is to validate their fears. Instead of dismissing their fears by saying, “Don’t be silly,” say something like, “I know you feel scared right now, and that’s okay.” Empathy tells children their feelings matter, and that is a cornerstone to early childhood development. 

2. Creative Expression: Play, Art & Storytelling

After validating your child’s fear, give them some tools to express or externalize the fears. As you help your little one feel safe, you will see those  screams of fright turn into laughs of delight! Here are three ways to lighten up those dark and scary spaces in your child’s mind.

• Use Dramatic Play: Let them act out scenarios using toys. There are a million scenarios in which your child might feel afraid. They might be truly scared of the animatronic dinosaurs they saw at the zoo. They might be afraid of going to preschool for the first time. Maybe they are still talking about the loud noise of the firework show. Help them imagine taking charge of the scary object, sound or scenario. They can practice  “telling the dinosaur off,” or pushing a button to mute all the fireworks. They can also role play with you what it might be like when they walk in the door at preschool.
  
• Use Artwork: Have your child they see under the bed—then transform them by adding silly features or making them laughable.
• Use Storytelling: At Heartland Academy, we love to use stories to help kids understand the world around them. You can invite your kids to create tales where the monster becomes a clown or a goofy sidekick. This practice turns down the scary meter by using humor! Remember, because the monster is a creation of your child’s imagination, they have the power to re-create it into something less scary.

3. Monster Spray & Worry Pets

Monster Spray and Worry Pets can be helpful tools for your imaginative little sleepyhead. These simple tools help your child feel empowered to conquer their fears. 

How to Use Monster Spray: 

• Decorate a spray bottle filled with water (add a drop of lavender for calming vibes).
• Have your child spray the room before bedtime in any places he or she thinks the monsters might be lurking: in closets or corners, under the bed.
• Remind them the monsters can’t stand the smell so the spray is sure to make their bedroom a Monster-free zone.

How to Use a Worry pet: 

• Select a stuffed animal to be your child’s worry pet and explain that it is specially designed to hold your child’s worries.
• Encourage your child to tell their worries to the stuffed animal before going to sleep at night. If the pet has a zipper pocket, the child can “store” the worries inside and zip it up.
• Remind your child the worry pet will stay with them through the night, helping them feel safe.

Keeping Fears at Bay

Childhood fears can pop up out of nowhere and often feel irrational to us grown-ups. However, we can help our children avoid some experiences that may cause unnecessary anxiety.  It’s important to know your child and be sensitive to their personal fear inducers. Some children are more sensitive than others, and even children’s programming can feel intense and be anxiety-inducing. It is helpful to limit fear-provoking media, especially before bedtime.

Most childhood fears fade, but if they persist more than six months or disrupt daily life, it may be more than a typical phase of development.. Early interventions with a  play therapist can help children develop the resilience they need. 

Final Take-aways

It’s true, childhood fears are normal and plentiful, but that doesn’t make them easy to conquer! Keep in mind that your child’s fears are very real to them. Even if YOU know they are safe, your job is to help your child FEEL safe. To tackle those monsters in their minds, let them know their feelings are valid. Equip your preschooler with Monster Spray and a Worry Pet before bed, and help them think differently about their fears by using role plays, art and stories. Before you know it, your children will be slaying all sorts of monsters with courage and confidence!