The Youth Fairy

The Youth Fairy A modern, solution-focused approach to positive change for children, teens and young adults. You can be confident your child is in a trusted pair of hands.

UK wide team specialising in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. I'm Sian, founder of The Youth Fairy, and I’m dedicated to helping children and teenagers struggling with the effects of anxiety, stress, anger, and low confidence make significant, long term, positive change. I offer a 1-hour consultation face to face in Denton or online, to discuss your child's situation and how I can

help them regain more emotional control and see them feeling happier, calmer and much more confident in a relatively short amount of time. As well as helping young people make these changes, I’m passionate that educating them on their mental health is such an important and essential part of the change process. In the consultation, I’ll explain to you and your child how the brain works to create their specific problems and associated feelings, behaviours or symptoms. This understanding can be really motivational to children as they realise there is hope, see more clearly what we can do about it and how to promote more mentally healthy behaviours in the future. This knowledge is super helpful for you as a parent too - it allows for greater understanding, creates a common language to talk more easily with your child about their well-being and gives you specific ideas of how you can best support the process (and beyond). And because this modern, well-researched approach is solution focused, it means your child won’t have to focus on the past in great detail or revisit traumatic events to move towards their preferred future goals. You’ll also get my relaxation audio downloads to help to improve any sleep problems they are having and support the process. In addition to thousands of clinical hours working with young people in my therapy practice, I have worked in education for over a decade as a teacher and previously as a Head of Year, responsible for the social and emotional well-being of the children in my care. You'll also find me out in the local community offering workshops for young people, parents and well-being programmes for teachers and children in primary and secondary schools. I hold an Enhanced DBS and am fully insured.

We know that dads and father figures don’t just shape childhood memories, they can also help shape our children’s emotio...
21/06/2026

We know that dads and father figures don’t just shape childhood memories, they can also help shape our children’s emotional resilience and mental well-being.

Their presence can quietly influence how children feel, cope, and grow, and so this Father’s Day, we’re celebrating the dads, stepdads, grandads and father figures who show up, listen, guide, and care in big and small ways.

Tag a loved dad or father figure in the comments 💜

A new Youth Fairy therapist for the North East! We’re delighted to welcome Peter Macklin to The Youth Fairy family! ✨Pet...
19/06/2026

A new Youth Fairy therapist for the North East! We’re delighted to welcome Peter Macklin to The Youth Fairy family! ✨

Peter becomes our first official male therapist, bringing with him over 20 years of experience working with young people as a teacher and Deputy Headteacher.

Throughout his career, Peter has supported thousands of children and teenagers through academic, emotional and personal challenges, and now combines that experience with Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy to help young people build confidence, manage anxiety, overcome challenges and create positive change in their lives.

We know that finding the right therapist is an important part of the journey, and Peter's appointment allows us to offer even greater choice to families seeking support for their child or teenager.

Supporting children and young people across Newcastle and the North West, Peter offers help for a wide range of challenges, including anxiety, ADHD, exam stress, low mood, self-harm, sleep difficulties, trauma, fears and phobias, anger management and major life transitions.

Please join us in giving Peter a very warm Youth Fairy welcome 💙

To find out more about Peter and book a free initial consultation, visit our website.

19/06/2026

What is happening in your child’s brain to make sports day feel so scary?

Youth Fairy South-West Leeds therapist Gill-Mary has guidance and advice on how to help your child manage those big emotions 💜

Does your child often feel unwell right before a sports day or match?Whilst many children enjoy the opportunity to shine...
18/06/2026

Does your child often feel unwell right before a sports day or match?

Whilst many children enjoy the opportunity to shine on a sports field in front of parents and teachers, there are also many others who are scared to ‘perform’ in front of people, and it’s worth remembering that, even as adults, this is often something that fills many of us with dread!

When performance anxiety kicks in, the brain sends signals that release stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. This can cause all kinds of real, physical symptoms like a pounding heart, sweaty palms, nausea or tummy aches, or shaking.

Your child’s body is preparing for danger. The Amygdala, the primitive part of the brain associated with fear response, is activated because they perceive the situation to be threatening or stressful. Even though the ‘threat’ is just a sports event, their amygdala can’t rationalise that.

Firstly, it’s important to remember that it’s not the sports day itself that create the anxiety, but rather the thoughts your child has about sports day events. Therefore, when we can change the thought, we can change the behaviour.

And just like all behaviour, anxiety-related behaviour is a learned response. So, if we can learn an anxiety-based response to stressful situations, we can also unlearn it by learning new, helpful, and healthy patterns of thinking and behaviour to replace the old, negative ways of thinking.

Our blog has some simple exercises for you to try at home with your child to help them form new healthy patterns of thinking. Find the blog at the link in the comments.

🏃‍♀️ Sports Day Anxiety? Sports Day isn’t exciting for every child; for some, it can be a day of stress and worry. While...
17/06/2026

🏃‍♀️ Sports Day Anxiety? Sports Day isn’t exciting for every child; for some, it can be a day of stress and worry.

While some children can’t wait to race, others may feel worried about being watched, making mistakes, or coming last. Big events, crowds, and new expectations can feel overwhelming for little nervous systems. 🌤️

If your child is feeling unsure about sports day, they’re not alone, lots of children experience this. But the good news is, with understanding and the right support, it can still be a positive experience that builds confidence and resilience.

📚 In our latest blog, we explore why sports day can trigger anxiety for some children and how parents can help them feel more comfortable and supported.

Read more here https://www.theyouthfairy.com/sports-day-anxiety/

16/06/2026

For some children, sports day can feel really scary. Youth Fairy therapist Simone shares her top tips on how you can support your anxious child 💜

15/06/2026

It’s your child’s sports day or football match and you are stood at the side of the field shouting words of encouragement…only that’s not what your child hears!

Sports Day can be so much fun for some children, but for others, school sports day, or any sports performance, can bring anxiety and self-doubt and a fear of letting others down.

A lot of that pressure doesn’t necessarily come from the race or game itself, but from what they think is expected of them.

Not all motivation feels the same to a child and sometimes, what we think is supportive can actually feel like added pressure to them. Here’s how to spot the difference:

You say: “Come on, you have to win this one!”
They hear that their value is tied to performance

You say: “Don’t come last like you did before.”
This reinforces fear of failure and embarrassment

You constantly shout instructions or their name from the sidelines
They get distracted and feel overwhelmed rather than supported.

You comparing them to siblings or classmates, saying “Your friend was much faster than you”
They hear: I’m not as good as them, my mum/dad thinks they are better

You focus only on the result afterwards “What place did you come?”
This implies that their value relies on where they placed.

What Encouragement Can Sound/Look Like:

“Just have fun and try your best.” - this takes the pressure off the outcome

“I love watching you take part.” - this demonstrates pride in their effort, not results

Smile, clap, and being present; non-verbal reassurance matters

“It’s okay to feel nervous, I’d feel that too.” - this normalises their emotions

Praising effort afterwards, for example “You kept going even when it was hard, that was amazing.”

Performance anxiety in young children can be linked to any event where they feel pressure to succeed or be at their best.

It’s our role to make sure our child knows they don’t have to be perfect or put in a perfect performance, and that we are proud of them for effort no matter the outcome.

Do you feel that your child’s potential is being affected by anxiety, stress or low confidence? Are they more than capab...
12/06/2026

Do you feel that your child’s potential is being affected by anxiety, stress or low confidence? Are they more than capable of achieving success but struggle to muster up that superhero confidence and self-belief to sparkle when it matters most to them?

The Youth Fairy SPARKLE programme is designed to give children that extra superhero confidence to perform at their very best when it counts. Areas we can help with include exam confidence, stage and sports performance, mindset blocks and public speaking.

Throughout the process they’ll learn what happens in our brains when we get anxious, frustrated or stressed under pressure and why this can affect out ability to take on new learning, forget our knowledge/game plan, make nervous mistakes or give up avoiding the pressure of a challenge.

There is no pressure to have all the answers, we are there to listen, understand and help them find a way forward so that they can begin to rediscover their confidence, resilience and sense of self.

Head to our website to learn more about the SPARKLE Programme and to find a Youth Fairy therapist in your local area.

https://www.theyouthfairy.com/programmes/sparkle/

You collect your child from school and their teacher says, “They’ve been brilliant all day!” Fast forward 20 minutes and...
11/06/2026

You collect your child from school and their teacher says, “They’ve been brilliant all day!” Fast forward 20 minutes and you’re met with tears, shouting, slammed doors or a total meltdown.

When your child falls apart after school, it can feel confusing, frustrating and maybe even a little personal, but this moment has a name: after-school restraint collapse. It’s what happens when children spend the whole day holding it together; following rules, managing friendships, coping with pressure, only to release it all when they finally feel safe - at home with you!

Underneath the tears and the anger, or the silence, is a child who has run down their emotional energy battery and in that moment, bringing some calm and connection is the priority. Only then can your child begin to regulate their emotions.

So instead of jumping to reprimand or try to fix or question your child, try making a connection with them first by swapping some of these phrases:

❌ “What’s wrong with you? You were fine at school!”
✅ “It looks like today took a lot out of you. I’m here.”

❌ “Stop crying, it’s not a big deal.”
✅ “Something feels really big right now, doesn’t it?”

❌ “You need to calm down.”
✅ “Let’s sit together for a minute.”

❌ “Why are you being so difficult?”
✅ “I can see you’re having a hard time, do you need space or company?”

❌ “Tell me what happened right now.”
✅ “We can talk about it when you’re ready. No rush.”

❌ “There’s no need to be upset.”
✅ “I don’t really understand yet, but I can see this feels upsetting.”

❌ “You need to use your words.”
✅ “It’s okay if you don’t have the words yet, I’m here with you.”

❌ “Big kids don’t behave like this.”
✅ “You’re allowed to feel this.”

❌ “You’ve just had a whole day at school, why are you acting like this now?”
✅ “Holding it together all day is really tiring. Home is where you can let it out.”

Save this post for those tricky after-school moments 💚

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