I’m a mum of two, and my eldest—now eight—really struggled with her emotions in different situations.

Going into nursery was a daily battle. Even during reception and Year 1, mornings were filled with tears, kicking, and screaming. There weren’t any signs of neurodiversity. Rather, it was a jumble of emotions—fear, sadness about leaving me, and even some excitement about seeing her friends. All those feelings tangled together and became overwhelming.

Honestly, that’s a completely normal and understandable reaction.

A Mum Looking for a Solution

Like any parent, I just wanted to support my children. My goal was to help C understand her emotions, recognise what she was feeling, and cope with it—without letting those emotions take over her entire day.

Seeing your child distressed is heartbreaking. Even worse is the feeling that your child is the only one acting out. However, you’re definitely not alone. So many parents face the same struggle, even if it’s not always visible.

The Birth of Worry Bags

To support my daughter, I created something called Worry Bags.

The idea started with a simple story. In it, Worry Bags is a character who talks about real-life situations kids may face and how those might make them feel. The story reassures children that emotions like sadness, anger, or worry are completely normal. More importantly, Worry Bags also shares calming techniques to help kids acknowledge those feelings, ride them out, and then move on.

Helping Kids Process Emotions

My hope was that my daughter would not only understand her emotions but also feel safe expressing them. At the time, everything was bubbling up and overwhelming her.

So, alongside the story, I included a “feelings toy”—similar to a stress ball—and a reusable feelings chart. These tools helped her share how she was feeling, why she felt that way, and how she hoped to feel soon.

I’m Just a Mum

No, I’m not a child psychologist. I’m simply a mum trying to help her kids manage big emotions in healthy ways.

To my surprise, Worry Bags worked—even better than I imagined. As a result, I thought: if it helped my daughter, maybe it could help other children too.

What’s in the Worry Bags Pack?

Each Worry Bags pack includes:

• The original story
• A feelings toy (like a stress ball)
• A reusable feelings chart and whiteboard pen
• A drawstring bag to keep everything together (because let’s be honest—something always goes missing in my house!)

Ultimately, I just hope Worry Bags can support other children the way it supported my own.

Sarah x