Helping Kids Manage Big Feelings: Insights from Felicity Conlan, GymbaROO-KindyROO Ambassador & Speech Pathologist

By Stephanie Lord-Darby and Felicity Conlan 

One of the hardest things about parenting is understanding our children’s big feelings. And boy, can they be BIG! Through our own journey as parents, we’ve learned just how crucial our role is in co-regulating emotions and guiding our little ones through the stormy seas of frustration, sadness, and excitement. While it’s deeply rewarding, acting as the household’s emotional coach can be exhausting—sometimes it feels like we’re burning through our own reserves just trying to help our kids manage theirs. So how can we reach for additional resources, rather than burning ourselves out as the sole co-regulating force at home?

To answer this, we reached out to Felicity Conlan, a trusted Speech Pathologist at Speech for The Stars and proud GymbaROO-KindyROO Ambassador. Felicity’s passion for empowering families shines through her work, and she shared with us one of her most recommended tools for helping children manage their emotions: the We Thinkers! series.

We Thinkers! books are a collection of engaging storybooks that help children develop social and emotional skills in a way that makes sense to them. At their core, these books teach kids how to understand their own thoughts and feelings—and those of others—while building perspective-taking and social problem-solving skills. The stories feature relatable characters and use clear, child-friendly language to break down complex ideas like self-regulation, empathy, and group participation.

Why Are They So Helpful for Big Feelings? Felicity explains that what makes We Thinkers! so valuable is how they provide children with a language for their emotions. 

“Young kids often experience huge feelings but lack the words to describe them. These books explicitly teach the difference between “thinking thoughts” and “feeling feelings,” help children name emotions, and show how thoughts and feelings influence behaviour. This means children can label what’s happening to them, which is the first step in reducing overwhelm,” Conlan explained. 

One of the standout strengths of the We Thinkers! program is its ability to take tricky, abstract social ideas and make them accessible for kids. Concepts such as “size of the problem,” “expected vs unexpected behaviour,” and “flexible vs stuck thinking” can be confusing for little ones, but the books break these ideas down into simple, visual steps. Through relatable scenarios and playful language, children quickly grasp how to apply these frameworks in real-life situations. This means a child can pause and think, “Is this a big problem or a small one?” and adjust their response accordingly—an invaluable skill for managing BIG emotions.

Another key feature of the We Thinkers! program is how it nurtures perspective-taking. Children are gently guided to understand that others may think and feel differently from themselves. This awareness helps shift their focus beyond their own emotions, paving the way for empathy and positive social interactions. Rather than simply instructing children to “calm down,” the books introduce practical, actionable strategies—such as making a “smart guess” about what others are thinking or following a group plan—that kids can use right away in everyday situations. These tools empower children to respond thoughtfully, not just reactively, to their big feelings.

Felicity highlights that the greatest strength of We Thinkers! is its focus on self-regulation. 

“The program helps children notice what’s happening in their body and mind, pause, and adjust their response. For both typically developing children and those with additional needs, We Thinkers! offers a consistent language and structured approach that supports growth at home and at school.”- Conlan 

We’re so grateful to Felicity for sharing her expertise and her go-to resource for helping kids manage big feelings. Harnessing tools like We Thinkers! can lighten the load for parents and empower our children to navigate their emotional worlds with confidence.

Felicity’s Picture Book Picks for Social Skills

• My Language Rights (By Judy Thompson) — Empowers children to value their heritage
• Have You Filled a Bucket Today? (By Carol McCloud) — Impact of daily acts of kindness
• What Do I Love More Than My Balloon? (By Linda El Samad) — Inclusion & acceptance
• The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes (By Mark Pett) — It’s OK to make mistakes
• Friendship Is Like a Seesaw (By Shona Innes) — Making friends
• Anger Is Like Armour (By Shona Innes) — Dealing with anger
• Freddie the Fly: Connecting the Dots (By Kimberly Delude) — Learning to read social cues
• Pig the Fibber (By Aaron Blabey) — Lesson about lying
• The Huge Bag of Worries (By Virginia Ironside) — Dealing with your worries
• Personal Space Camp (By Julia Cook) — Learning about personal space

GymbaROO-KindyROO’s Picture Book Picks for Learning Emotions

1. Where Is Cheeky Monster? by Mike Lucas
2. Quinn the Not So Colourful Cuttlefish by Simon S. Robinson
3. Brave As A Lion by Mama Makes Books
4. Awe: A Little Word for a Big Feeling by Jayneen Sanders
5. Don’t Worry, Felix by Yohann Devezy and Katherine Alice
6. I Am Me by Aunty Sharron Mirii Bell
7. I Am Me by Karen Brough (title as above, but different author)
8. The Tale of The Little Black Cloud by Karen Brough
9. I Can’t Believe They’re Gone by Karen Brough
10. The Little Series (4 books) by Phillip Gwynne