Willy Woo’s Book Series, created with the guidance of a psychologist, helps children understand what’s happening inside their bodies when feelings start to rise.

Through playful, easy-to-use techniques, children learn to notice their emotions, stay in control, and express how they feel.

Written in rhyme, the stories are fun to read and help children remember calming tools. The series is perfect for ages 3 to 10, when children are learning to recognise and manage big emotions with confidence.

The very first book in the series is now available on Amazon:
“Willy Woo’s Feeling Angry.”

Sadness in Children: What Parents Need to Understand

Sadness is not a sign that something is wrong with your child. It is a normal, healthy emotional response. In fact, psychologists agree that sadness plays a crucial role in helping children learn resilience, self-awareness and connection.

Children feel sad when they experience loss, disappointment or overwhelm. Their bodies slow down, their minds turn inward, and they naturally seek comfort from the people they trust. This is how emotional learning happens.

When parents allow sadness instead of trying to stop it, children learn to recognise their feelings, ask for help and recover in a regulated way.

What Happens When Children Are Not Allowed to Feel Sad

Many parents say, “I just do not want my child to be upset.” The intention is loving, but the impact is harmful. When children are told to stop crying, cheer up or be brave too quickly, the message they receive is: “Your feelings are not acceptable.”

Psychological research shows that blocking sadness leads to predictable problems.

1. They bottle their emotions

Suppressed sadness does not disappear. It builds tension inside the body. These children are more likely to develop anxiety or sudden emotional outbursts because the feelings have no safe way out.

2. They struggle to understand themselves

If a child never practises sadness, they never learn to recognise it or communicate it. As they grow older, they often say, “I do not know what I feel,” because they were never given space to learn.

3. They show more behavioural issues

Unprocessed sadness often comes out as anger, irritability or tantrums. It is not bad behaviour. It is a child carrying a feeling they have not been allowed to express.

4. They develop shame around vulnerability

Children quickly learn that crying or being upset gets judged or shut down. This can lead to perfectionism, people pleasing and a fear of making mistakes.

5. They find it harder to build close relationships

Children build trust through moments of sadness and comfort. If they never have that, they struggle with emotional closeness in friendships and family relationships later on.

What Parents Can Do Instead

Here is the simple truth. You do not need to fix sadness. You need to guide your child through it.

Psychologists call this emotion coaching. It means:

 • stay present

• name the feeling

 • validate what your child is experiencing

 • guide them towards coping skills

 • reconnect when they are calm

A child who learns “it is safe to feel sad and I know how to handle it” becomes a child who grows into a resilient, emotionally capable adult.

A Short Version for Parents to Keep in Mind

Sadness is not a problem to fix. It is a skill to practise. When your child is sad, you are not failing them. You are being offered a moment to teach connection, emotional safety and resilience.

What Happens When Children Don’t Learn About Anger?

When kids don’t learn what anger is or how to deal with it, the feeling doesn’t disappear. It slips beneath the surface like a shaken soda can waiting to burst. Sooner or later, it pops.

Below are some of the most common outcomes when children aren’t taught how to understand or manage anger.

1. Bigger Outbursts

Kids who can’t name anger or make sense of it often express it through loud reactions: tantrums, hitting, yelling, or shutting down. They aren’t “bad.” They’re overwhelmed and unequipped, trying to communicate with tools they don’t have yet.

2. Bottling Everything Up

Some children take a quieter route. They swallow their feelings to avoid trouble. On the outside, they seem calm, but inside, they carry emotional tension like a heavy backpack they never take off. Bottled-up anger doesn’t stay small; it slowly shapes how they see themselves and their relationships.

3. Trouble With Friends

When kids can’t explain what they feel, misunderstandings grow faster. They may push people away, react too strongly during conflicts, or feel constantly misunderstood. Healthy friendships rely on communication, and communication begins with knowing your own emotions.

4. Low Self-Control Later On

Managing anger in childhood helps build a sense of self-control that carries into adulthood. Without that early practice, teens and adults may struggle with impulsive reactions, emotional swings, or difficulty setting healthy boundaries.

5. Shame Instead of Understanding

When anger is never talked about, many kids begin to believe the emotion itself is “bad.” This turns a normal feeling into guilt, confusion, and fear of disappointing others. Instead of learning that anger is a signal, they learn to see it as a flaw.

What Helps?

Teaching children about anger isn’t about shutting the feeling down. It’s about helping them understand it and handle it safely. A few simple skills can make a huge difference:

• Naming feelings
• Noticing body signs like a fast heartbeat or temperature pathway. 
• Using calm-down tools such as breathing, taking space, or asking for help
• Seeing adults model healthy ways of expressing anger

When children learn these skills early, they grow into adults who can face tough emotions without being controlled by them. They become people who can feel anger, express it safely, and return to calm with confidence instead of shame.

Psychologist David Huffines and I created the “Willy Woo’s Feeling” series to help children understand their emotions, accept them, and develop effective strategies for managing them. 

Each book in the series guides children to notice the physical sensations that come with their feelings, identify what they are experiencing, and choose healthier ways to respond. 

The books are written in rhyme to make learning engaging and easy to revisit. When children feel angry, sad, etc., they can return to the relevant book in the series, follow the steps, and practice the calming pathways it teaches. 

You can now find the very first book in the series, Willy Woo’s Feeling Angry, available on Amazon!

You can find the link below.