Finding power in emotions
A new series of children’s books is giving young children an insight into their own feeelings and emotions, helping them to gain confidence and overcome some common issues that can impact on wellbeing. Co-authors Natalie Costa and Beth Cox talk explain why early intervention brings long-term rewards.
MENTAL health and wellbeing issues can affect people of any age and self- help books have been an important tool for many people looking for ways to cope.
Life Coach Natalie Costa has teamed up with Inclusive Minds Co-founder Beth Cox for a new series of books aimed at the children’s market. The Level Headers series focus on ways that children can improve confidence and self-esteem, providing a pathway to improved wellbeing and reduced anxiety. With a culture of testing and the rise of social media, there are increasing pressures on children and Natalie and Beth want to provide an early intervention to give children the skills they need to manage those pressures. Natalie began her career as a teacher, while Beth has been involved in publishing with a specific interest in inclusion and representation. Natalie’s career trajectory changed when she became involved in life coaching and she realised children could benefit from the newly-emerging field. She started out providing after-school mindfulness sessions, but that quickly became a way of helping children cope with exam-induced anxiety. She went on to create a business, Power Thoughts, which is aimed at “empowering children to tap into the ‘power’ of their minds”. The first two books in the Level Headers series, Find your power and Stretch your confidence provide advice and activities to help children. Natalie said: “The way the books are set up is so that they can be self-led or with parents.
12 PEN&INC.
The books provide conversation starters and open up new avenues for talking about feelings and emotions.” Her work focuses on helping children understand their emotions and equipping them with a better understanding of success and failure. She says: “I speak to
children about the thoughts and feelings they have, and let them know that they do not have to control their lives. You do not have to act on every thought you have, you have a choice.
“We look at feelings and how they come and go. We want children to be aware of their feelings and understand how they change. If you are feeling sad in the morning, you might be happy by lunch time – feelings are like the weather and they change all the time.”
Natalie says that part of the work is helping children understand that while strong emotions often dominate, there are subtleties to how we are feeling. So instead of just “happy”, “sad” and “mad” there are other feelings feeding into those emotions.
She adds that children need to be given time and space to work through their emotions, saying: “It’s not just a case of ‘getting over it’. Children should know that it’s ok to have these feelings and that they can sit with them for a while. We can then look at where we went wrong or what we can do next time, so that children know they can change things. What we don’t want is for them to wallow in negative feelings.”
Natalie Costa
Natalie grew up with anxiety and was later diagnosed with depression. She says that she wishes she had a better understanding of what was driving her anxiety, and also skills and techniques to help her cope better with the feelings. The two books offer different approaches to wellbeing, according to Natalie, who says: “Find your power is more to do with self-esteem and Stretch your confidence
Autumn-Winter 2019
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09/10/2019 14:59
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