Understanding Emotions

Helping children understand the messages their bodies are sending them

Our bodies are always giving us information. When we experience a big feeling, our brain sends signals to our body to help us respond and those signals can feel different for everyone.

The Herd of Feelings: Body Sensations poster series helps children explore the physical sensations that can accompany different emotions, including anger, sadness, anxiety and worry.

Through simple, child-friendly language and engaging visuals, the series encourages children to pause and notice what is happening in their bodies. They might notice a fast heartbeat, tense muscles, a tummy ache, shaky hands, tiredness, watery eyes or feeling hot or cold.

The posters help children begin to understand:

My brain sends signals to my body.
My body gives me clues about how I am feeling.
Different feelings can create different body sensations.
Everyone experiences feelings differently.
I can learn ways to help my body when big feelings happen.

The series is designed to be a starting point for conversation, emotional awareness and self-understanding. Children can use the posters to identify their own body signals, add their personal experiences and explore strategies that help them feel more settled.

Rather than telling children how they should feel, the Herd of Feelings approach encourages curiosity:

What is your body telling you?

These posters can be used at home, in schools, therapy settings or alongside other emotional wellbeing resources to help children develop the language and awareness they need to understand their feelings.