Nurture to Thrive - Children's Emotions and Behavioural Specialist

13/09/2026

💗 “She’s fine at school…” — but is she really?

Many autistic girls can go under the radar at school because they become incredibly skilled at masking.

Teachers may say:

“She seems fine.”
“She joins in.”
“She has friends.”
“We don’t see any problems at school.”

But then she gets home…

She may have huge emotional meltdowns, become dysregulated, cry, shout, withdraw, become exhausted or need to completely shut herself away.

This can be the result of spending the whole school day holding everything in.

Autistic girls can often become very good at watching others, copying social behaviours and learning what is expected of them. They may force themselves to make eye contact, rehearse conversations, suppress stimming, hide anxiety, follow rules carefully and work incredibly hard to appear as though they are coping.

Some girls are also naturally quiet, compliant or eager to please, which can make their difficulties even easier to miss.

But appearing to cope is not the same as actually coping.

Behind the mask, a child may be experiencing:

✨ Sensory overload
✨ Anxiety and uncertainty
✨ Social exhaustion
✨ Fear of getting things wrong
✨ Difficulty understanding friendships
✨ Emotional overwhelm
✨ The effort of constantly trying to “fit in”

When they finally arrive home — their safe place — the mask can come off.

That is often when parents see the distress that school may never witness.

At Nurture to Thrive, I support neurodivergent children through individual 1-to-1 emotional and behavioural support sessions, helping them understand their emotions, recognise what their body is telling them and develop regulation strategies that genuinely work for them.

I can also work alongside families and schools to help identify what may be happening beneath the surface and suggest small, reasonable adjustments that can make the school day feel safer and more manageable.

Sometimes a child doesn’t need to become better at coping.

Sometimes the environment needs to become better at supporting them. 💗

If this sounds familiar and you would like to find out how I can support your child, please send me a message.

🌿 Nurture to Thrive
Children’s Emotions & Behavioural Specialist
🌐 www.nurturetothrive.co.uk

10/09/2026

Supporting neurodivergent children isn’t about changing who they are — it’s about celebrating their individual strengths, skills and qualities, while helping them understand themselves, recognise their emotions and develop tools and strategies that work for them.

As a Children’s Emotions and Behavioural Specialist, I support children to explore the things they find tricky, whether that’s at home, at school or in everyday situations.

Together, we become a bit like detectives 🔎 — looking beneath the behaviour and asking:

✨ What might be making this situation difficult?
✨ What is their behaviour communicating?
✨ Are they feeling overwhelmed, worried, frustrated or unsure?
✨ What helps them feel safe, calm and regulated?
✨ What strategies can we put in place to make things easier?

Through my 1:1 support sessions, I help children develop a greater understanding of their emotions while building their own personalised toolbox of strategies for emotional regulation, anxiety, frustration, confidence and everyday challenges.

But supporting a child also means supporting the people around them. 💛

I work with parents and families too, sharing Emotion Coaching techniques and practical strategies that can help adults respond to big emotions with greater understanding, connection and confidence.

When we understand what sits underneath a behaviour, we can begin to support the need behind it.

If you feel your child could benefit from some extra emotional or behavioural support, please message me for more information.

🌿 Nurture to Thrive
Children’s Emotions and Behavioural Specialist

🌐

Nurture to Thrive is an an emotional wellbeing and behavioural service based in West Sussex dedicated to supporting children and their families. I help children build essential emotional tools and strategies to navigate everyday life with greater confidence and resilience.

27/08/2026

💙 NEW! My Emotions Journal for Teens 💙

As a Children’s Emotions and Behavioural Specialist, I designed My Emotions Journal for Teens to give young people a safe and supportive space to recognise, understand and express their emotions. The teenage years can bring big feelings, changing pressures and lots of thoughts that can sometimes feel difficult to put into words, so I wanted to create a journal that helps teenagers explore what is going on for them in a calm, manageable and positive way.

Available in two different designs, the journal is suitable for both boys and girls and includes:

✨ Daily emotional check-ins
😤 A Rage Page – a safe place to get frustrations out without judgement
💛 Kindness and self-esteem activities
🌟 Positive affirmations
🎯 Goal setting
📝 Weekly reflection and reset pages
💧 Hydration and sleep check-ins
🧠 Opportunities to recognise what has felt tricky
💙 Calming and wellbeing activities
🌱 Space to notice progress, strengths and positive moments

Sometimes teenagers don't want to talk straight away – and that's okay. Writing, drawing and reflecting can give them another way to begin understanding what they are feeling, what may have triggered it and what might help them feel more regulated.

The journal isn't about having a "perfect" day or getting rid of difficult emotions. It's about helping teenagers learn:

“This is how I feel.”
“This is what might be going on for me.”
“And this is what I can do to support myself.”

Because every emotion has a purpose, and learning to understand those emotions can help build self-awareness, confidence, resilience and emotional wellbeing. 💙

Be real. Be kind. Be you.
You've got this.

📚 My Emotions Journal for Teens – available now.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HFKMGCTC

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HFKMGCTC

26/08/2026

Back to School Transitions

Helping your child feel safe, prepared and more confident

Going back to school after the summer holidays can bring lots of different feelings.

For some children, the biggest worry is not knowing exactly what is going to happen.

A new classroom.
A new teacher.
A different place to sit.
A new peg or place to hang their coat.
Different routines.
New classmates.
New expectations.

When lots of things feel uncertain, it can help to make the transition as predictable and familiar as possible.

💚 Show them what will be new

Try using:

A simple social story about returning to school
Photos of their new classroom
A photograph of their new teacher or teaching assistant
A picture of where they may sit
Where they will hang their coat or put their bag
Which door they will enter through
Where they will eat lunch
Where they will play at break time
A simple visual timetable showing what their school day might look like

If possible, look through these several times before school starts rather than introducing everything at once.

Remember to talk about what is staying the SAME

When we are worried about change, our brains can focus on everything that feels different.

Reminding children about familiar things can help them feel safer.

You could say:

💚 “You will still go to school at the same time.”
💚 “The playground is still there.”
💚 “You will still have lunch in the same hall.”
💚 “The toilets are in the same place.”
💚 “You will still have break time and lunchtime.”
💚 “Home time will still happen at the end of the day.”
💚 “You will still come home to us.”
💚 “Some of the adults and children you already know will still be there.”
💚 “Weekends and school holidays will still happen.”
💚 “Your favourite parts of school can still be part of your day.”

Sometimes creating a simple “Things That Are Changing / Things That Are Staying The Same” sheet together can be really reassuring.

Other things that may help

Practise the morning routine a few days beforehand.

Gradually move bedtime and waking times back towards the school routine.

Let your child help prepare their school bag, uniform, lunchbox or water bottle.

Use a countdown calendar so they can see how many days are left until school starts.

Drive or walk past the school before the first day.

Make a simple visual timetable for the morning:
Wake up → Breakfast → Get dressed → Brush teeth → Shoes → School

Give your child something familiar to carry, such as a small comfort item, keyring or little note from home if school allows it.

Talk about who they can go to if they feel worried.

Agree on a simple phrase they can use such as:
“I need some help.”
“I need a quiet minute.”
“I’m feeling worried.”

Practise one or two calming strategies before school starts, such as slow breathing, counting, squeezing hands together or grounding.

Keep the first few evenings after school as calm and predictable as possible. Children may need extra time to decompress after holding everything together during the school day.

Most importantly, your child does not need to feel completely confident before they go back.

They just need to know:

💚 What is going to happen.
💚 What will stay the same.
💚 Who will help them.
💚 And that it is okay to have big feelings about change.

A little preparation, predictability and reassurance can make a big difference.

Nurture to Thrive
Supporting children to understand their emotions, regulate their bodies and feel more confident in the world around them.

Nurture to Thrive is an an emotional wellbeing and behavioural service based in West Sussex dedicated to supporting children and their families. I help children build essential emotional tools and strategies to navigate everyday life with greater confidence and resilience.

25/08/2026

Dive into emotions with Myrtle the Turtle!

Looking for a fun, gentle way to help your little ones understand their big feelings?
Introducing Myrtle the Turtle: Under-the-Sea Adventures—the ultimate tracing and colouring book designed to help children learn, colour, and grow!
Crafted by me 😀, this premium 8.5" x 8.5" square paperback book combines early literacy with social-emotional learning. It’s the perfect screen-free activity for home, preschool, or travel!

What makes this book special?

Trace Emotion Words: Children build fine motor skills while tracing words like "Excited," "Lively," and "Happy"!

Colour Cute Ocean Friends: Pages are packed with adorable dolphins, crabs, and whales waiting for a splash of colour!

Talk About Feelings: Each page features gentle, parent-friendly prompts to help spark meaningful conversations with your child. Give your child the tools to explore their emotions creatively.
Get your copy on Amazon today! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HFX5RNDZ

21/08/2026

I have had lots of messages asking how people can purchase one of my children's emotions journals and the new emotions colouring in/tracing book. Here are the links to Amazon 🥰
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HFX5RNDZ
Colouring in book link
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HFL1ZZ23
Girl teens journal
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HFKMGCTC
Boys teen journal
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H9FDR8GC
Boys primary age journal
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H9FDMRSX
Girls primary age journal

My Emotions Journal - For Children: Help Children Understand and Express Their Feelings, Manage Worries and Support Wellbeing (The Emotional Wellbeing Series)

20/08/2026

20/08/2026

🌿 NEW FROM NURTURE TO THRIVE! 🌿
I’m so excited to share my new collection of Emotions Journals and Myrtle the Turtle Emotions Tracing & Colouring Book, created to help children and teenagers better understand, express and manage their emotions. 💚
📚 There are 4 Emotions Journals to choose from:
✨ 2 designed for primary-aged children
✨ 2 designed especially for teenagers
The journals provide a safe and gentle space to explore feelings, reflect on the day and begin to recognise what might be happening in their mind and body.
They can help support:
💚 Emotional awareness and regulation
💚 Self-esteem and confidence
💚 Recognising and naming emotions
💚 Expressing difficult feelings
💚 Developing healthy coping strategies
💚 Reflection and self-awareness
🐢 PLUS… meet Myrtle the Turtle and her friends!
My Emotions Tracing & Colouring Book has been created especially for primary-aged children.
Children can join Myrtle the Turtle and her underwater friends as they explore lots of different emotions through fun tracing and colouring activities.
It’s a lovely way to start gentle conversations about feelings while giving children a calm, creative activity to enjoy.
Because learning about emotions doesn’t have to feel like work. Through drawing, colouring, talking and reflecting, children can begin to understand that all emotions are okay – and that there are things we can do to help ourselves when feelings become big or overwhelming. 🌈
These resources have been created by me as a Children’s Emotions and Behavioural Specialist and are designed to complement the emotional support and regulation work I use with children and families through Nurture to Thrive.
Perfect for use at home, in schools, nurture groups, SEND support, emotional literacy sessions or 1-to-1 support.
💚 Helping children understand their emotions today can give them skills they carry with them for life.
🌿 Nurture to Thrive - Children's Emotions and Behavioural Specialist
www.nurturetothrive.co.uk


A massive thank you to Alison Carpenter for helping me bring my dreams to reality ❤

16/08/2026

FREE RESOURCES 🌿

Did you know there are 8 FREE breathing exercises available on my website?

These simple, child-friendly exercises can help your child pause, calm their body and regulate their emotions when they are feeling worried, anxious, angry or overwhelmed.

They are easy to practise together and can be a helpful tool for both home and school.

💚 Take a look and find the breathing exercise that works best for your child.

🌿 www.nurturetothrive.co.uk

16/08/2026

🌿 Is your child finding their emotions difficult to manage? 🌿

At Nurture to Thrive, I support children to better understand their emotions — not just what they are feeling, but what is happening inside their body and why.

Through gentle, engaging and child-led 1:1 sessions, I help children:

💛 Recognise different emotions and the physical signs they may notice in their body
💚 Understand what their emotions might be trying to tell them
💙 Explore fun, practical tools and strategies to help them regulate
💛 Build confidence and develop greater emotional awareness
💚 Find strategies that can also be used at home with parents and carers

Every child is different, so sessions are tailored to their individual needs and interests. Support can take place 1:1 in school or in an alternative setting, providing a safe and supportive space where children can explore their emotions at their own pace.

If your child is struggling with anxiety, anger, frustration, confidence, self-esteem or understanding and managing their emotions, I can help.

I am now taking bookings for after the October half term.

If you would like to find out more about how Nurture to Thrive could support your child, please get in touch.

📧 [email protected]
🌿 www.nurturetothrive.co.uk

Helping children understand their emotions, recognise what their body is telling them, and discover the tools that work for them. 💚

Nurture to Thrive is an an emotional wellbeing and behavioural service based in West Sussex dedicated to supporting children and their families. I help children build essential emotional tools and strategies to navigate everyday life with greater confidence and resilience.