AD – This is a collaborative post
After almost 5 months (!) of staying at home with our children, many parents and children across the country are now preparing for the hopeful return of school and preschool settings within the next month. Life still feels very uncertain for everyone and understandably, anxiety levels may be much higher than usual. After spending so long within the same four walls as their parents and siblings, many children, mine included, will be nervous about venturing somewhere new, meeting new people and the prospect of hours away from their loved ones. They may even experience some feelings of separation anxiety or fear. Trying to balance and understand those feelings can be a really confusing time.
We have always been big fans of the Love Monster in this house; the popular preschool TV Series on CBeebies that is based on the original books by Rachel Bright. The Love Monster lives in Fluffytown and due to his somewhat ‘different’ outward exterior, has always felt a little out of place. Navigating the world trying to find the right thing to do, the Love Monster episodes highlight the importance of friendship, kindness, empathy and instinct and show that by coming together with friends, you can solve problems and embrace your individual differences.
Packed full of really important life lessons, Love Monster is a great way to highlight and reassure preschoolers that all the feelings they are experiencing are perfectly normal. Watching the Love Monster, reading the books together and engaging them in educational activities based on the show is a great way to start conversations with your preschooler around their emotions, encouraging them to open up, explain how they are feeling and learn to identify and manage how they respond. Now, more than ever our children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing needs our support, and the Love Monster offers a really fun and unique way to offer this.
Preparing for Preschool
Neve starts a brand new school preschool in September, and whilst she is a sociable and energetic child, she does have a tendency to get upset and cry if she’s experiencing something unfamiliar. We recently sat and watched some Love Monster episodes together, talking through what was happening as we watched and asking questions to encourage conversation. The shows subtly include lots of practical tips, coping thoughts and relaxation strategies to help little ones manage their emotions and helps encourage exposure to tasks that they may otherwise normally fear.
Neve particularly enjoyed ‘Carrot Day’ which was all about Love Monster trying a new food. This episode was extremely relatable in our house, with my daughter’s extreme picky eating having previously lead to lots of fears around unfamiliar foods and textures. We’ve had tears, frustration and battles of wills and its been hard for all of us to manage.
Whilst watching Carrot Day together we could recognise some of the emotions Love Monster was feeling; some fear and reluctance to try. We were able to discuss how Love Monster was brave by trying the different flavours, and even that its possible to change your mind – a flavour that you might not like today may become your favourite tomorrow as your familiarity grows. We’ve seen a huge improvement in Neve’s eating during lockdown, with her slowly but surely becoming more comfortable with a wider variety of foods.
In Favourite Library Book Day I particularly loved the Love Monster’s concept of ‘Fluffing it out’ – taking a moment to calm down and breathe more slowly so he can think of a plan and solve a problem. This was also really relatable and helpful. Neve can get really frustrated and cross with her sister at times, and we have previously talked about taking some deep breaths and counting to 10 to calm down.
Reading the Love Monster books with her older sister was also lots of fun. Neve particularly enjoyed Love Monster & the Perfect Present, which is all about Love Monster trying to find the perfect gift for his friend. After searching high and low and realising that lots of gifts can be very expensive, he decides to makes a special gift instead – a great reminder that showing someone you care doesn’t have to cost the earth – it’s definitely the thought that counts. Some of the most precious gifts are the ones that have been made especially for their recipient.
Plant a seed day was another real hit with Neve, demonstrating that through showing patience and nurturing, efforts will be rewarded. We have done LOTS of planting and growing our own during lockdown, and decided to make our own monster using cress as hair. Neve decorated her own little pot using paint sticks and stickers, and we planted the seeds and waited for them to grow.
She was desperate to start seeing the shoots and got very excited when they started to materialise! This was a great way to talk about how sometimes we can have a tendency to be impatient, but good things come to those who wait!
Overall, I think Love Monster is a great way to get your children talking and make sure that the mixed range of emotions and feelings they may be feeling come to the surface. Through conversation and fun games and activities, you can play a huge part in your children’s emotional wellbeing and give us parents one less thing to worry about in 2020!
You can watch episodes of Love Monster on CBeebies and BBC iplayer here.
If you fancy reading some of the Love Monster books with your preschoolers, why not head to my instagram feed for your chance to win a set of 2 Love Monster Books. GOOD LUCK!
