The meltdown passes, but the skills stay with them.
Five minutes of play today becomes the tool they reach for at age 8, 12, and onwards. The Big Feelings Playbook gives you and your nanny the resource you need to be on the same page with what you're building with your tiny humans.
30 day money back guarantee
- The words to say, right on every card
- Same cards for you, your nanny, even grandma
- 5 minutes, no prep
Two grownups, two different playbooks.
It's 6:02. The nanny says "he was great today!", grabs their bag, and the door clicks shut. By 6:05 he's on the kitchen floor over the blue cup, and when you try the trick you saw on Instagram, he yells "But the nanny lets me!"
Nobody did anything wrong here, you're both doing your best. He held it together all day, and now he feels safe enough to fall apart, and with two grownups using two different approaches, he's testing which one works.
You're not alone, it's more common than you think! That's why we want so many of our tiny humans learning the tools that help them manage these big feelings, with their parents and caregivers right there with them.
What changes with the Playbook
- You and your nanny run the same card that week, the same way.
- Every card has an "in the moment" line, so the hard moment ends the same way regardless of who is home.
- A one minute recap turns "he was fine" into "we did Cool the Soup after nap, and when we had to leave the park later, it helped him calm down in a few breaths."
Don't worry, we've got you covered with a cheat sheet!
No more searching for the right thing to say in the middle of a meltdown. Every card has an "in the moment" line, and they all live on one cheat sheet for the fridge, so regardless of who is home, everyone reaches for the same strategies.
- "Hand on belly, one slow balloon breath together, then talk."
- "Let's practice our ice pop melt! Squeeze tight, then melt."
- "Show me with your hands, how loud is it? Let's turn it down together."
"Mom, put your hands on your tummy. It's your turn."
The night they teach it back to you.
At the end of every week, your tiny human gets to be the teacher and runs the card for you. That's the moment parents and nannies text each other about, the first time they reach for a belly breath on their own, or show you how to melt like an ice pop.
The meltdowns fade from memory. The kitchen floor breathing sessions stay with both of you.
Learn one card, you can run them all
Every card is laid out the same way, so your nanny can open the card you played on Tuesday and pick up right where you left off. Each topic is a little ladder, so there's always a next step for every kid in the house.
Great for little ones and first tries. Belly Breathing, Freeze and Notice, Feelings Faces.
Once the Starter feels easy. Cool the Soup, Mirror Me, Say It, Draw It, Move It.
For older kids or pros, up to 12. Count the Waves, Top to Toes Scan, Two Feelings at Once.
Four topics, four superpowers
4 topics over 4 weeks: Breath → Body → Movement → Feelings. Follow the plan, or mix and match whenever your kid needs something new.
Breath
- CardAges
- Belly Breathing 2+
- Cool the Soup 4+
- Count the Waves 7+
Body
- CardAges
- Ice Pop Melt 3+
- Heartbeat Hunt 5+
- Top to Toes Scan 7+
Movement
- CardAges
- Freeze and Notice 2+
- Mirror Me 4+
- Slow Motion Race 6+
Feelings
- CardAges
- Feelings Faces 2+
- Say It, Draw It, Move It 4+
- Two Feelings at Once 8+
- Extra: Feeling Volume 5+
Two kids? Same topic, different card. Run the Starter with the little one and the Advanced card with the big one, side by side.
One 42 page PDF, easy to find your way around
Print the pages you need, or keep it on your phone.
- A welcome and why mindfulness matters
- Nanny's start here page, one page to forward to your nanny
- How to make it stick, little habits that help
- If they say no, what to try instead
- Identifying our why and our goals, to fill in together
- Your 4 week plan, 4 topics over 4 weeks
- Find it by moment: car, bath, bedtime, hard moments
- 13 Playbook Cards across 4 topics
- A Starter, Builder and Advanced card in every topic
- Easier and harder lines on every card, ages 2 to 12
- Print cards, every card again, four to a page
- Hard moments cheat sheet for the fridge
- 4 week tracker and a Big Feelings calendar
- Recap logs to pass between grownups
- For the kids: a superpower map, a short journal, make your own card
- The 6pm handoff card, a 60 second door script for nanny to parent
- The after school reset, the first 15 minutes home, in order
- The grownups' text, ready to send to your nanny, partner or grandparents
Your first week, step by step
Your PDF download opens the moment you check out. Here's how the first week goes.
Forward one page
Send your nanny the Nanny's start here page and print week one, one copy for the fridge and one for their bag.
Decide once, together
Fill in your why and your goals with your nanny: what you'd love to see, and which everyday moment you'll play on.
Belly Breathing
Whoever's home runs it on its best moment, after nap, in the car or at bedtime, then leaves a recap.
Three times, same card
It's ok if the first try is wiggly and giggly, that's how it starts to stick. When a hard moment shows up, reach for the card's "in the moment" line.
A new topic each week
Follow the plan, or mix and match the cards anytime your kid needs something new.
Gentle changes that grow with practice
Wiggly and giggly. That's normal, keep it light and come back to it.
They know the cards by name. Say "cool the soup" and they know the game, with you or with your nanny.
Tools to ride the wave. Big feelings still come. The goal is that they feel they have something to reach for when the big feelings arrive.
A handful of favorites they ask for, and recaps that show you and your nanny what's working.
These life skills are learned through play, and grow with practice.
Five minutes, a few times a week
Pick one moment you already have, like the car or bedtime, and run this week's card there three times. It's totally normal for kids to push back at first, so be patient (lots and lots of patience!), repetition is what makes it stick. Missed a day? That's ok, just pick right back up.
Built for every grownup in their day
Parenting accounts hand mom a script, and nanny courses hand the nanny a certificate with no clear direction of how they can work on this together. This hands both of you the same game plan you can follow, without putting any extra work on your plates.
Buy it once, share it with everyone who cares for your kid. Your nanny, a partner, grandparents, a sitter. Forward the PDF to all of them, that's the whole point.
For the parent
Decide once on your why and your goals, then read the recap at dinner and pick the thread right back up on the days you weren't home.
For the nanny
No more inventing something at 3pm. Just open this week's card, play it, ask the questions that are already written out, and leave a quick note for the next grownup: funny moments, good insights, or anything you'd like to share.
For the tiny human
Learning new skills at playtime, with a superpower map to color in and the chance to teach a card back to their grownup.
Every choice comes from the research
We did the research so you don't have to.
Kids under 12 respond well
Across 32 studies with 3,640 children, mindfulness practice helped attention, handling emotions and behavior, and getting along with others.
The grownups matter too
When parents learn mindfulness too, parenting stress drops and kids' outcomes improve.
Habits ride on routines
Habits form by repeating something on the same everyday cue, and missing a day didn't break them. So every card names its best moment.
I wrote the plan I wish someone had handed me.
Hi, I'm Paulette. Before any of this, I was the one in the room, nannying for a family whose girls I loved like my own. I spent years of their most impressionable days with them, and most afternoons I was improvising, hoping whatever we landed on counted for something. What I noticed, eventually, is that the small things stuck the most. A few slow breaths before a hard moment. Noticing a sound outside instead of rushing past it. Tasting something on purpose instead of inhaling it between activities. I never called them lessons, and they picked it up anyway.
As a youth leadership coach across three different continents, I realized that I had the resources to help others bypass the struggles I went through. The Big Feelings Playbook is my notes of coaching and nannying blended together. It's the plan I wanted on the afternoons I was improvising, and it's written so anyone can pick it up where it left off.
A nanny and a family who are genuinely aligned, working from the same playbook, is rarer than it should be. Nannies want to do more than just get through the day. Parents want to know their kids are learning and growing in the hours they're not there. That's what this is for, and I hope you love it as much as I have loved working on it!
Paulette, former nanny
What the Big Feelings Playbook adds
| The mini | The Big Feelings Playbook | |
|---|---|---|
| Playbook Cards | 3 | 13, across 4 topics |
| Ages | 2 to 12 | 2 to 12, a Starter, Builder and Advanced card in every topic |
| Plan | 7 days | 4 topics over 4 weeks, mix and match anytime |
| For your nanny | Recaps | Nanny's start here page, recap logs, 4 week tracker |
| For hard moments | One "in the moment" line per card | A hard moments cheat sheet and an "if they say no" page |
| For the kids | Superpower map, journal, make your own card, teach it back | |
| Print cards | Every card, four to a page |
Before you buy
Can I share it with my nanny, my mom or my partner?
Yes, please do! You buy it once and share it with everyone who cares for your kid. Forward the PDF to your nanny, your partner, grandparents or a sitter, the cards work best when everyone's on the same page.
How much time does it take?
About five minutes, three times a week, riding on something you already do like the car, snack or bedtime. Plus a one minute recap after each one.
Do I need a nanny for this to make sense?
No. It's built so two grownups can run the same plan, whether that's a nanny, a partner, a grandparent or a sitter. Everything works with one grownup and their kids too.
What ages is it for?
Built for 2 to 8, and it grows with them to 12. Every card lists a starting age, plus a "make it easier" line and a "make it harder" line.
What if my kid says no?
Totally normal. There's a whole page for it: offer a choice of two cards, go first yourself, make it move, shrink it down to one breath, or try a different moment.
What if it's not a fit?
If it's not a fit for your family, email me within 30 days and I'll refund you, no hard feelings.
I don't have time for one more thing.
I hear you! It's five minutes riding on something you already do, the car, snack time, the bath. No prep, the card tells you exactly what to do and say.
My kid won't sit still for this.
Wiggly kids are so welcome here. A whole week is Movement: Freeze and Notice, Mirror Me and Slow Motion Race, and every card has a "make it easier" line.
What if my nanny won't do it?
There's a Nanny's start here page you can forward, written by a former nanny. Most nannies love having a plan instead of making something up at 3pm, and there's a ready to send text in the bonuses.
I already follow a parenting account.
Love that! Most of those talk to one grownup. This one is built for two, you and whoever else is with your kid, with cards you both run and a one minute recap to hand things off.
Is it a printed book?
It's a PDF you get the moment you check out. Open it on your phone or print the pages you need at home. No login and no subscription.
One plan, regardless of who is home
- 13 five minute Playbook Cards across 4 topics, ages 2 to 12
- A 4 week plan and a Nanny's start here page
- Identifying our why and our goals, recap logs, tracker, cheat sheet and print cards
- Three free bonuses: the 6pm handoff card, the after school reset and the grownups' text
- Open it on your phone or print it as often as you like
- Buy once, share with your nanny, partner and grandparents
Years from now, they won't remember the meltdown at 6:05. They'll remember you on the kitchen floor, hands on your bellies, breathing together.
Have a nanny? Add the Nanny & Family Starter Kit and get both for $49 →
Secure checkout through Stripe, card or Apple Pay. Your PDF download opens right after checkout. If it's not a fit for your family, email me within 30 days and I'll refund you, no hard feelings. Questions first? info@thenannyplaybook.com