The Rescue Pups

For grown-ups

What this story is about

Little children often feel small: too small to reach, too small to help, too small to be brave. In this story your child leads a team of rescue pups, and when a snowstorm sets off every alarm bell at once, the team has to split up. Each pup helps in its own way, and the tiniest one, scared of a dark gap, saves the day with three steps your child taught her: big breath, brave heart, small steps. Courage is not about being big. It is taking the next small step while you still feel a little scared.

Three ways to talk about it

• Practise the three steps together: a big breath in through the nose, a hand on the heart for "brave heart", then one small step towards the tricky thing.
• Notice what your child is good at, like the pups: strong, fast, clever, small enough to fit. In every family and every class, everyone helps in their own way.
• Make brave things smaller: not "go to the party" but "walk to the door with me", then "say hello", one small step at a time.

Three questions to ask

• Why did the team have to split up when all four bells rang?
• Pip was scared of the dark gap. What helped her go in?
• When did something feel too big for you? What small step could you take next time?

Practise the tool together: Big breath. Brave heart. Small steps.

Teach it with three movements. Big breath: breathe in slowly through the nose while you count to three, then let it out as if you were cooling hot soup. Brave heart: put a flat hand on your heart and say "I can try." Small steps: take one tiny, real step forward. Use it before small challenges, like a new playground, a dark hallway or a first swim, and cheer the step, not the result.

If your child's fears are very strong, last for weeks, or keep them from playing, sleeping or going to nursery, it is worth talking to your paediatrician or a child psychologist.