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When our kids worry big


I always say this first, because I mean it: I’m not a psychologist, and I’m not a psychiatrist.I’m just a mum who wanted to help her kids through the hard stuff.

This whole journey began quietly.I spent months Googling “how to help an anxious child”, hoping for something clear, something practical, something real.

But most of what I found felt too clinical, too abstract, or too hard to actually use in the moment when your child is crying, scared, or overwhelmed.

Wait times for therapists were over eight weeks, and the costs were – and still are - astronomical. 

So I began reading and researching, and making little activities, just simple things to help my kids when their chest felt tight, when they couldn’t sleep, or when the worry felt bigger than they were.

I had many nights where I sat awake long after everyone else was asleep, wondering if I was doing enough.

One night stands out clearly.


My daughter asked me, “Mum… what’s breast cancer?”

She had overheard me speaking quietly with my mum, who’d had a small lump removed.She wasn’t supposed to be listening. 

Her face that night — wide eyes, trembling lip — said everything:

“If Grandma can get sick… what else can happen?”“What if something happens to you?”“What if you and Grandma die?”

That is fear without language. And this is where the science matters.

Why kids’ fears feel so big

Inside all of us is a tiny alarm system called the amygdala. It’s the part of the brain that says:

“Something might be dangerous — get ready!”

In children, the amygdala is very active and still learning how to tell the difference between real danger and imagined danger.

So when a child hears the word “cancer,” the amygdala rings a giant alarm — even if the situation is safe and contained.

What they need is help to:

  • Understand what they’re feeling

  • Calm their body

  • Challenge the fear

  • And return to safety


This is something children can learn — and it stays with them for life.


This is where Wellbeing Hacks came from

What began as a couple of worksheets slowly became a four-year research project into:

  • Child positive psychology

  • Neuroscience

  • The way thoughts influence feelings

  • How the brain learns to calm itself

I wanted to give my kids lifelong protective factors — skills that would help them through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

And I learned something big:

Teaching mental health skills in primary school makes a measurable difference later in life. That sounds frightening — but it actually gives us a huge window of opportunity. If we can teach our kids how to tie their shoelaces, eat with a fork and cross the road safely, then we can also teach them how to:

  • Recognise when anxiety is rising

  • Take control of their breathing

  • Understand the difference between a thought and a fact (CBT)

  • Challenge worry loops with evidence

  • Calm their body before the feelings get too big

  • And speak to themselves with kindness, not fear


Wellbeing Hacks has you covered. In the book, Frizz explains the brain in kid language, not adult vocabulary, like:

Honestly? My 10-year-old life is hard enough without my brain pulling sneaky tricks on me.

But guess what? It totally does.

Sometimes, what your brain thinks is happening… ISN'T actually true at all.

Yup—your brain can mess with you.

That’s why you’ve gotta grab your imaginary detective hat and start investigating:

“Is this thought true… or is my brain being dramatic again?”


They learn how to:

  • Check the facts

  • Do activities to settle their amygdala

  • Challenge scary thoughts with real evidence

  • Know what to do when fear kicks in unexpectedly

  • Feel proud of themselves after


All through story, humour and characters they can trust.

No lectures.No pressure.Just gentle learning.

For the parent who is tired, worried, or trying their best

If your child gets stuck in “what if” thinking, worries, struggles to fall asleep or overthinks everything, you are not alone and your child is not broken. I’ve been there. Their brain is doing its job — just louder than it needs to.

They can learn how to turn the volume down.You can learn how to help them.And you don’t need to do it perfectly.

Just together.

And that’s what Wellbeing Hacks is for. If it helps one child feel safer in themselves — it’s been worth everything.

Try the Wellbeing Hacks Calm & Confident starter kit for FREE

With support,

Lena(And of course — Frizz & Ferguson) 🐮💛



 
 
 

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