CourageBrave, even when it is hard

You need: A soft cloth or your hands

1. Sit facing your toddler and cover your face with the cloth.
2. Say, “Where is Mummy?” (or Daddy, Grandma, whoever you are) and peek out with a big smile.
3. Make the hiding a little longer each time, and stop if your toddler looks unsure.
4. End with a cuddle: “You waited. You were brave. I came back.”

“I go away a tiny bit, and I always come back.”

You need: A clear, safe floor space and a sturdy sofa edge

1. Stay close, on soft or clear ground, and hold out your hands.
2. Let your toddler pull up or cruise along the sofa, then step towards your hands if they would like to.
3. Cheer the try, not only the step: “You tried!”
4. Sit down together and rest. If they sit down hard, say, “Oops. We can try again.”

“You tried a new thing. I am right here.”

You need: A few safe, large objects with different textures, such as a woolly hat and a smooth wooden spoon

1. Stay close and choose items too big to be swallowed.
2. Show the item to your toddler and touch it yourself first.
3. Wait for your toddler to look, reach or touch, or to say no with their face. Both are fine.
4. Name it: “Soft. Smooth. You touched it.”

“New things can feel funny. We can look first.”

You need: A soft toy and some cushions or paper circles

1. Tell the story: Bear feels scared to cross to the toy box. Lay four stepping stones on the floor.
2. Ask your child to help Bear: “What is the first tiny step?”
3. Move Bear one stone at a time. Stop and breathe at each stone.
4. Cheer when Bear arrives. Ask, “Which step was the hardest? Which helped?”

“Bear is scared and brave. Both can be true.”

You need: Nothing

1. Make a scared face together: wide eyes, hands up, a tiny shiver.
2. Now make a brave face: shoulders back, chin up, a small smile.
3. Swap back and forth. Say, “Scared, brave. Scared, brave.”
4. Ask, “What is one brave thing you could do today?”

“I can feel scared and still stand tall.”

You need: Paper, a crayon and tape or a string

1. Ask your child to remember one brave thing they did, however small.
2. Draw a big star or heart on the paper and add their brave moment.
3. Let them decorate it and wear it for the day.
4. Tell someone at home or school what it is for.

“You were scared, and you did it. That is brave.”

You need: Paper and a pencil

1. Pick one thing that feels scary, such as asking someone to play.
2. Draw a ladder with five rungs. Put the easiest tiny step on rung one (look at them) and the real thing at the top.
3. Choose a rung to try today. Come back tomorrow and tick it.
4. Celebrate each rung, not only the top.

“Which rung feels doable today?”

You need: Nothing, or a puppet

1. Act out a short moment where a child needs a brave voice: asking a teacher for help, or saying, “I do not like that.”
2. Say the line in a whisper, then in a clear, steady voice.
3. Take turns. Notice how it feels in your body to say it clearly.
4. Finish with a thumbs up for every brave voice.

“Clear and kind. I can say what I need.”

You need: Paper and a pencil

1. Draw the Five Feelings faces and circle scared.
2. Write or draw what the scared feeling is about: one thing per scrap of paper.
3. Sort them into “small step now,” “small step later” and “I need a grown-up’s help.”
4. Choose one to try. Tell a trusted grown-up about the others.

“Naming the worry helps me see the next step.”

You need: Paper and pens

1. Draw a circle in the middle and write one thing you would like to be brave about.
2. Around it, add what you fear might happen, what you hope will happen, and who could help.
3. Underline the smallest first step. Circle the day you will try it.
4. Share with a partner or a trusted adult, and say how it feels to say it out loud.

“What is the smallest honest step towards what matters to you?”

You need: Pairs and paper

1. Write down three moments that need a brave voice: saying no to a game, speaking up for someone, asking for help.
2. In pairs, write one line for each that is clear, kind and true.
3. Say them aloud, first in a quiet voice, then in a steady one.
4. Talk about which felt braver and why.

“What is the kindest way to say this that is still clear?”

You need: A group of 4 to 6 and paper

1. Each person writes one brave thing they would like to try this week, anonymously if they prefer.
2. Read them out. As a group, pick one idea for each that makes the step smaller or easier.
3. Choose a buddy who will check in on a particular day.
4. Meet for two minutes next week and share what happened.

“How could we help each other be brave?”

You need: Paper and a pen

1. Write three things that matter to you, such as honesty, friendship or fairness.
2. Beside each, write one fear that can get in the way.
3. Choose one pair and plan one small brave action that serves the value, even with the fear there.
4. Decide when you will do it and who could back you up.

“What matters enough that I would feel scared and still do it?”

You need: A partner, or a mirror

1. Pick a sentence you find hard to say: “I disagree,” “I need help,” “That is not okay with me.”
2. Write three ways to say it that are honest and respectful.
3. Say your favourite aloud twice, slowly and steadily.
4. Choose the moment this week you might use it, or decide to bring it to a trusted adult first.

“Which version sounds like me?”

You need: Paper and pen

1. List three times in the last year you felt scared and did something anyway.
2. For each, write what helped: a person, a breath, a plan, a reason.
3. Circle the helper you could use again.
4. Choose one fear you carry now and write the first small step you would take with that helper.

“I have been brave before. What helped me then?”