Family

Kiwi book to help kids talk about difficult feelings

It's high time we started educating kids about their emotional well being, say Kiwis Evie Kemp and Jenny Palmer.
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Friends Jenny Palmer and Evie Kemp have always been interested in mental and emotional health, frequently making it the subject of their conversations.

But when they realised that even as adults, people find it difficult to convey how they’re really feeling, it became apparent that children, with less vocabulary and experience at their disposal, must feel even more helpless.

“Children have these huge emotions,” explains Evie, who is an illustrator.

“And while yes, they have to learn about the world, and maths, and science and everything in between, they also deserve to be taught a little about what’s going on in their own head.”

That’s why Evie and her author friend Jenny decided to start a new project Feel a Little: Little Poems About Big Feelings.

The book comes with beautiful illustrations, created by Evie

“We got this idea for illustrated poems about emotions that we could include all aspects and sense within.

“We thought it could be a book shared between families, that starts conversations about emotions.

“Our aim is to make people talk about feelings – even the really horrible, tricky ones – so that hopefully when kids have that experience they’re equipped to reach out and trust that no one’s going to judge them.”

Evie and Jenny say they love the term “name to tame an emotion,” because it envelops what they’re trying to do: make people recognise their feelings, so they can move forward and cope with them.

Left-Right: Jenny and Evie

“As a community we need to start focusing on understanding and encouraging communication around feelings from an early age – equipping children with the tools they need to best face the ups and downs (and in-betweens) of life.

“Parents, whānau, caregivers and educators need a variety of ways to encourage these conversations and the safe space of engaged reading together is a proven, effective beginning.”

To make their book a reality, Evie and Jenny have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fundraise. and need a total of $10K to reach their goal.

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