~ The Muddle Monster by Leonie Marie ~
I first saw these Muddle Monsters on Instagram. They have been created by Leonie Marie who has spent her whole career working with adults and children with additional needs. The idea behind the Muddle Monster is that children can whisper their worries to their monster, or they can write their worries onto a piece of paper which they then put in the pouch behind the monster’s head.
https://www.muddlemonstersofficial.co.uk/
https://instagram.com/muddlemonsters?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
The worry does not get taken away or eaten but stays with the monster until the child is ready to talk about it. The worry is shared with the monster, so it does not feel as big or scary. Sometimes, children need time to build up the confidence to talk about something that is worrying them, or they need time to process their thoughts. Giving the worry to the monster is the first step in being able to share their thoughts and feelings with someone they trust, and the monster helps them to do this.
Emotional literacy work helps children to understand what they are feeling and helps them to know how to react to these emotions. Children often know happy, sad, and angry but do not recognise more complex emotions e.g., disappointed, embarrassed, frustrated. By labelling the emotions that children are experiencing in the moment, it helps them to develop and expand their emotional vocabulary which means they are more likely to use words to explain their emotions rather than displaying challenging behaviour to show their feelings.
Alongside the Muddle Monsters, there are some resources to support children develop their emotional literacy skills that can be used simply and easily within the classroom and throughout the day.
Parents often ask what they can do to help their children at home and these monsters are a great way for parents to really help their children with their worries. Children may find it difficult to express their emotions verbally or may not want to talk to their mum/dad/carer but, the monster acts as a go-between and opens up the dialogue for the child.
Make sure to check out the Muddle Monster / Leonie’s Work and get creative with our ideas too!
We’d love for you to join the Reach Community and share your Muddle Monster work with us in our main inbox. Email through to reachbehaviour@outlook.com to feature in our gallery!
Reach Behaviour 