Worry & CalmYour child and the Balloon Breath
↗Before the school trip Your child's tummy is full of flapping birds. Mumma sits on the bed and says, 'Put your hands on your tummy. Breathe in slowly and blow up a balloon inside. Now let it go, sssss, like a balloon flying round the room.' They do it five times. The birds settle. Your child does a balloon breath at the bus door, and another at the museum gate, and by the dinosaur hall has forgotten all about them.
Lesson: Blow up the balloon inside and the birds settle
Worry & CalmYour child and the Worry Stone
↗Nana finds a grey pebble by the river, smooth as soap, and puts it in Your child's palm. 'This is a worry stone. When a worry comes, rub it with your thumb and give the worry to the stone.' Your child laughs, but keeps it in the school pocket anyway. During the spelling test the thumb finds the stone and rubs. Three spellings that seemed lost come back. That night the stone sleeps under the pillow.
Lesson: A small smooth thing in your pocket can hold a big worry
Worry & CalmYour child and the Night Before the Test
↗The maths test is tomorrow and Your child cannot sleep, running sums in the dark that keep coming out wrong. Papa hears the tossing and comes in. He does not bring the maths book. He brings a glass of warm milk and says, 'Tell me the worst thing that could happen.' Your child says, 'I get zero.' Papa says, 'And then?' 'Then I try again.' 'That is all?' Your child finishes the milk and is asleep in five minutes.
Lesson: Ask what happens next and the worst thing gets smaller
Worry & CalmYour child and the Dentist Chair
↗ The dentist's chair is big and it tilts backwards, and the light is very bright. Your child grips Bua's hand so hard that Bua says ouch. 'Balloon breath,' she whispers. 'And squeeze my hand once for every breath out.' The dentist counts the teeth. Your child squeezes, breathes, squeezes, breathes. It is over before the twelfth squeeze. The dentist gives a sticker of a smiling tooth, and Bua gives an ice cream.
Lesson: Squeeze a hand, breathe out and it is done before you know
Worry & CalmYour child and the Thunderstorm
↗ The first monsoon storm cracks right over the roof and Your child dives under Dadi's shawl. Dadi does not say do not be scared. She says, 'Let us count. When the light flashes, count till the bang.' One, two, three, four, bang. Then one, two, three, four, five, six, bang. 'It is going away,' Dadi says. 'The bigger the count, the farther the storm.' By the count of twelve Your child is peeping out to watch the rain.
Lesson: Count between the flash and the bang and the storm walks away
Worry & CalmYour child and the School Play Butterflies
↗ Behind the curtain Your child is the tree in the school play and has one line to say, and now it has fallen out of the head. The butterflies are enormous. Didi, who is helping with costumes, kneels down. 'Look at me. In through the nose, out through the mouth, three times.' The line comes back on the third breath. Your child walks on stage, waves the branches, and says it loud enough for Papa in the back row to hear.
Lesson: Three breaths behind the curtain bring the words back
Worry & CalmYour child Tells Papa a Worry
↗ For a week Your child has kept a worry hidden, that the big boys on the school bus will laugh again, and the worry has grown from a pea to a football. On Sunday Papa is washing the scooter and Your child hands him the sponge and the worry at the same time. Papa keeps scrubbing while he listens, and then says, 'Thank you for telling me. We will fix this together.' The football goes back to a pea.
Lesson: A worry told to Papa shrinks by half
Worry & CalmYour child and the Calm Corner
↗ After the noisy birthday party Your child is jangling inside. Mumma shows the new corner behind the sofa, with a floor cushion, a soft blanket, a picture book and a jar of glitter water. 'This is the calm corner. Anyone can go when their inside is too loud.' Your child shakes the jar and watches the glitter fall slowly to the bottom. When it has all settled, Your child has too, and comes out to help with the cake plates.
Lesson: Watch the glitter settle and the inside settles with it
Worry & CalmYour child and the Long Train Journey
↗ It is Your child's first overnight train, only with Nana, and a hundred worries are packed with the clothes. What if the train leaves without them? What if the toilet is scary? Nana says, 'One worry per station. Tell me one, we look at it, then it gets off at the next stop.' Jhansi takes the toilet worry. Bhopal takes the ticket worry. By Nagpur there are no worries left, only a plate of hot vada and a sunset.
Lesson: Let one worry get off at every station
Worry & CalmYour child and the Lost Tiffin
↗ The tiffin is not in the bag. Your child checks four times and the worry rises with each check. Mumma will be cross, the day will be hungry, everyone will see. Sharma Ma'am notices the fidgeting and comes over. 'Lost something? Let us think it through.' Where was it last? On the kitchen counter. So it is safe. Can lunch be shared? Riya offers a paratha at once. The worry that was a mountain turns out to be a paratha.
Lesson: Think a worry through step by step and it gets shorter
Worry & CalmYour child Shrinks the Worry Monster
↗ Chacha finds Your child worrying about the swimming class again. He hands over a pencil. 'Draw the worry. Make it as big and ugly as it feels.' Your child draws a monster with water for hair. 'Now,' says Chacha, 'draw it again, half the size.' Then half again. Then half again, until the monster is a dot with tiny teeth. Chacha folds the paper into a boat. At the pool Your child floats the boat first, then floats too.
Lesson: Draw the worry smaller and smaller until it fits in a paper boat
Worry & CalmYour child and the Injection at the Village Camp
↗ The health camp at the village school has a long line and a nurse with a tray, and Your child can see the needles. The legs want to run. Nani holds a hand and says, 'Look at that goat.' There is a goat eating a poster. 'Tell me what the goat is doing.' Your child describes the goat, the poster, the goat's beard, and in the middle of the beard the nurse says done. It did not even feel like a pinch.
Lesson: Look at the goat and the pinch is over before you know
Worry & CalmYour child and the Worry List
↗ Papa finds Your child awake, and instead of saying sleep, he brings a notebook. 'Tell me every worry. I will write.' The list is long. The project, the friend, the dog in the lane, the loose tooth. Papa reads it back. 'Which ones can we do something about tomorrow?' Two get ticks. 'Which ones are not really ours?' Three get crossed out. The loose tooth gets a smiley. The notebook goes under the pillow and Your child sleeps.
Lesson: Written down, worries become a list and lists can be ticked
Worry & CalmYour child and the Crowd at the Market
↗ In the Diwali market crush, Your child's hand slips out of Mumma's and suddenly there are only strangers' legs everywhere. The panic comes fast. But Mumma has practised this. Stand still. Breathe. Look for a shop aunty. Your child stands still beside a bangle stall, breathes twice, and tells the bangle aunty. Thirty seconds later Mumma arrives, out of breath. 'You did exactly right,' she says, and buys twelve bangles from the aunty.
Lesson: Stand still, breathe, and let the grown-ups find you
Worry & CalmYour child and the Five Things Game
↗ The wedding hall is loud, the band is louder, and Your child wants to hide under a table. Bhaiya crouches down. 'Five things game. Tell me five things you can see.' Fairy lights, a red turban, a plate of jalebis, a baby, a dog outside. 'Four things you can hear.' Drums, laughing, a whistle, Mumma. 'Three you can touch.' By the time it is one thing to taste, Your child is eating the jalebi and the hall is only a party.
Lesson: Five things you can see brings you back to now
Worry & CalmCalm Breathing Balloon
↗ A tiny balloon friend floats beside Your child and grows bigger with every slow breath. When a windy worry tries to blow everyone around, Your child learns to breathe in, breathe out, and guide the balloon safely home. The story should make the feeling visible as a cloud, balloon, volcano, garden, or other child-friendly symbol. Your child does not defeat the feeling by force; instead, they name it, breathe, ask for help, and choose one steady step. The ending should feel safe, hopeful, and practical.
Lesson: Slow breathing can help big feelings become manageable.
Worry & CalmWorry Cloud Walk
↗ A small gray worry cloud follows Your child around the park, whispering what-ifs. With each brave question and each kind answer, the cloud becomes lighter, showing Your child that worries can be heard without being allowed to lead. The story should make the feeling visible as a cloud, balloon, volcano, garden, or other child-friendly symbol. Your child does not defeat the feeling by force; instead, they name it, breathe, ask for help, and choose one steady step. The ending should feel safe, hopeful, and practical.
Lesson: Naming worries and asking helpful questions can make them less powerful.