In school pastoral work, therapy sessions, social work visits or at home after a difficult moment, these emotion body clues pages can help children and young people put words to what is happening inside their bodies. The main poster shows a stress scale from calm through early stress, stress rising, high stress and overwhelmed, making it easier to talk about emotional escalation without relying only on feeling words.
The poster is organised by body areas and observable clues, including thoughts, face, voice, breathing, body, hands, movement and other signs. Examples include thinking clearly, hard to focus, thoughts racing, crying, cannot speak, breathing faster, chest feeling tight, shaking, clenched fists, needing the toilet, mind going blank and feeling very tired. The layout is especially useful for children who find it hard to explain anxiety, anger, overwhelm or sensory stress in the moment.
Two printable worksheets support follow-up reflection. “My Early Warning Signs” asks the child to look at the chart and write the first signs that tell them stress is starting, with space for each body area. “Notice Your Body Clues” prompts them to think about a time they felt very stressed, upset or overwhelmed and record what they noticed in their body at that moment.
Practitioners, teachers, parents, carers and counsellors could use the pages during emotional literacy work, regulation planning, wellbeing check-ins, nurture sessions or child and family support meetings. The chart can be kept visible as a poster, while the worksheets can be used one-to-one to build a personalised picture of a child’s early warning signs and stress responses.
The wording is simple enough for many primary-aged children, while still being relevant for older children and teenagers who benefit from concrete prompts. The material is by Edita Stiborova.
