Mind Bubbles

Mind Bubbles Building lifelong mental health, one small moment at a time. Child-led tools for regulation, connection & emotional resilience. Created by therapists.
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Trusted by teachers. Loved by children.

🫧 Play that protects
🌐 mindbubbles.org

When we rush to stop big feelings, we miss the chance to teach emotional safety.Children learn regulation through co-reg...
30/07/2026

When we rush to stop big feelings, we miss the chance to teach emotional safety.

Children learn regulation through co-regulation — not correction.

It's not always convenient, but let’s make space for every emotion, even the messy and tricky ones.

When a bin chicken makes an appearance....that's when you know it's definitely an Aussie program! We're up to some reall...
20/06/2026

When a bin chicken makes an appearance....that's when you know it's definitely an Aussie program!

We're up to some really exciting stuff!

Check the neighbours...is it bin night?

Like so many founders, I'm usually thinking about what's left to do, not how far we've come.Sometimes it's worth pausing...
18/06/2026

Like so many founders, I'm usually thinking about what's left to do, not how far we've come.

Sometimes it's worth pausing long enough to recognise that the thousands of tiny decisions, sketches, conversations, rewrites and prototypes really do become something meaningful.

There's still a long way to go, but today I'm feeling incredibly grateful for our team, for our educators and families, and for this little world we're building for children. 💙

There is a common belief that if implementation is slow, people must not be committed enough. At Mind Bubbles, we see it...
16/06/2026

There is a common belief that if implementation is slow, people must not be committed enough.

At Mind Bubbles, we see it differently.

We intentionally design implementation to be slow, which might sound strange in a profession where educators are constantly being asked to do more, learn more, document more and change more. But there is a reason for it.

From a neurobiological perspective, the brain can only manage so much change at once. Every new routine competes with habits that have often been built over years. When cognitive load becomes too high, people naturally fall back into familiar ways of working, not because they do not care or are not capable, but because their brain is trying to manage competing demands while conserving energy.

Unfortunately, many improvement models respond by asking people to work even harder, with more training, more expectations, more initiatives and more accountability. Over time, that does not just create fatigue.

It can quietly convince incredible educators that they are somehow falling short.

We do not believe that. We believe capability already exists, and our role is to create the conditions where that capability can flourish.

So instead of asking teams to change everything at once, we help them establish one small routine that becomes part of everyday practice. Because routines become habits, habits create consistency, and consistency builds capacity.

Meaningful change is not something you rush. It is something you build, one successful step at a time, with the right support beside you.

One of the most rewarding parts of supporting kindy teams is watching a child’s nervous system shift from protection to ...
11/06/2026

One of the most rewarding parts of supporting kindy teams is watching a child’s nervous system shift from protection to participation.

Through one of our mentor sessions yesterday, an educator reached out about a little who is having a tricky time. She needs constant reassurance, asks lots of questions, and constantly monitors her environment and the people around her. Her mum is understandably concerned and wondering what else might help.

Together, we explored some simple regulation activities, including the Cuddle Ball and Cookie Dough. Nothing complicated. No pressure. Just practical tools the educators could use to help her body experience safety, predictability, and success.

This morning, her educator sent us a message. "Ruby asked me for the ball."
That small moment is significant, not because she completed an activity, or because an adult prompted her. But because she recognised something helped her body and independently sought it out again.

This is what we're creating in kindy rooms and lounge rooms all over the country. Not to make children dependent on adults to regulate them, but to help them develop awareness of their own nervous system, recognise what supports them, and begin accessing those tools independently.

For children who experience anxiety, the answer is not always to push harder, talk more, or demand bravery. Sometimes the most effective intervention is helping the body experience enough safety that the brain no longer needs to stay on high alert.

When that happens, we often see what was there all along beneath the worry: curiosity, play, confidence, connection, and joy.

That is why early intervention matters. Not because we're fixing children.
Because we're helping them discover the tools that allow them to be themselves.

One tiny language shift can change how quickly a child responds.Instead of telling children what NOT to do...Tell them w...
09/06/2026

One tiny language shift can change how quickly a child responds.

Instead of telling children what NOT to do...Tell them what TO do.

❌ "Stop running!"
✅ "Let's use our walking legs."

❌ "Don't yell!"
✅ "Let's use a quiet voice."

❌ "Stop climbing on the table!"
✅ "Feet stay on the floor."

❌ "Don't grab!"
✅ "Use gentle hands."

❌ "Stop pushing!"
✅ "Show me safe hands."

Why? Because the brain has to create a picture of what you're saying.
When a child hears "don't run", their brain first creates a picture of...running.

Only then does it have to process the word "don't" and work out what you actually want instead. That's a lot of extra processing for a developing brain, and especially hard when they're excited, frustrated, tired, or dysregulated.

But when you say "use your walking legs", the brain immediately has a clear picture of the action you want. No guessing and no extra step. Just a clear instruction their body can follow.

Think of it like a GPS. "Don't go left" still leaves lots of options.
"Turn right" tells you exactly where to go.

So instead of:
❌ Stop running
❌ Stop shouting
❌ Don't climb
❌ Don't throw
❌ Don't push

Try:
✅ Walking legs
✅ Quiet voice
✅ Feet on the floor
✅ Balls are for throwing
✅ Safe hands

Children are much more successful when we tell them what TO do rather than what NOT to do. It's a small change, but it's one their growing brain can use immediately.

💬 Which positive instruction do you use most often with children?
Share with your families, or save this for the next busy transition, group time, or playground moment for your team.

Developmental psychology tells us that some of the most important foundations of attachment, language, emotional regulat...
09/06/2026

Developmental psychology tells us that some of the most important foundations of attachment, language, emotional regulation, social understanding, and learning emerge through moments of shared attention between a child and a trusted adult.

Mind Bubbles keeps engineering those moments.

Every word chosen with intention. Every tiny change in the world noticed together. Every "Come and see!" a child runs to share with their grown-up.

Underneath it all, something is quietly being laid down:

✨ I am safe
✨ I belong
✨ I matter
✨ My presence makes things better
✨ There is someone who wants to see what I see

None of it is said directly.
All of it is felt — repeatedly, gently, daily.

Because that's how you rewire a nervous system.
Not in one big moment.
In ten thousand tiny ones.

We're not writing copy.
We're writing neural pathways.

And for the big people carrying so much?
We have the words for the moments you don't.

Look at these stats. These are your colleagues, your husband, son, mates.... Every time you use a Mind Bubbles strategy ...
08/06/2026

Look at these stats. These are your colleagues, your husband, son, mates.... Every time you use a Mind Bubbles strategy with your little ones, you're helping us grow a generation of men who have emotional literacy, and know there's no shame in feeling sad or embarrassed. They know how to connect, ask for help, and use the strategies they built with their kindy teacher, to move through these very temporary feelings. Before they're only left with a very permanent solution.

Thank you. You matter. I'm so, so grateful that you're here. Part of this xx

What else could be true?When a child's behaviour feels difficult, disruptive, or "naughty," our brains rush to explain i...
07/06/2026

What else could be true?

When a child's behaviour feels difficult, disruptive, or "naughty," our brains rush to explain it.

They're being defiant.

They're not listening.

They're doing it on purpose.

But what if there's more to the story?
One simple question can change everything about how we see that moment:
What else could be true?

Perhaps the child who is lashing out is overwhelmed.

Perhaps the child who is refusing is anxious.

Perhaps the child who seems angry is carrying disappointment, fear, shame, or stress they don't yet have words for.

For vulnerable children especially, behaviour is often the visible part of an invisible struggle.

Asking "What else could be true?" moves us out of judgment and back into curiosity. It creates enough pause to notice the need beneath the behaviour before we respond.

It also changes how we see the adults around us.

The educator who seems short-tempered.

The partner who has gone quiet.

The parent who looks composed at drop-off but is barely holding the morning together.

Curiosity doesn't remove boundaries or expectations. It simply reminds us that behaviour is information, and understanding changes how we respond.

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do for a child is pause long enough to ask:

What else could be true? 🫧

Friday night delirium, and I couldn't resist to share 🤣 We're talking all things first dates over family dinner and I ca...
05/06/2026

Friday night delirium, and I couldn't resist to share 🤣 We're talking all things first dates over family dinner and I can still remember what I wore from Sportgirl circa 1996. The shirt was this slinky, stretchy material which even the seatbelt ravaged. Devo!

Google couldn't help, but ChatGPT did a mock up (minus the thin eyebrows)😆

What a fox!! 🤣

Do you remember what you worked on your first date? Have a laugh, and have the best weekend. You deserve it x

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