Dealing in Feelings
Understanding emotions
Meet Julie
Julie is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist from South Australia with over 27 years of experience working with children and families, particularly children with disabilities.
Her passion for helping children began from her own experience with her child’s developmental language disorder, reinforcing the value of early intervention.
Throughout her career in schools, foster care, disability services, and private practice, she has assessed and worked with many children with developmental delays, intellectual developmental disorders, and autism.
Her interest in trauma’s impact on children in foster care with disabilities led her to receive a Churchill Fellowship in 2007, allowing her to research therapeutic foster care programs internationally.
Why I created Dealing in Feelings
I’ve always used games in therapy and know how much children love to play. I have also worked with many children who find it hard to talk about feelings.
Some children have difficulties recognising emotions in their bodies, while others find it hard to read facial expressions and body language. Some have language delays or are anxious about talking to others.
I was searching for some emotion cards that could help the kids I saw in my therapy practice express how they were feeling inside. However, I couldn’t find anything that realistically showed children’s feelings.
So in July 2019, I decided I would create my own and the Dealing in Feelings emotion cards were born!
In 2020, I wrote Feelings and Me, which was written for toddlers and preschoolers to introduce them to emotions in a fun way by using animal expressions.
My vision is to continue to create engaging and fun educational games, cards and books that help children learn and talk about emotions.
The Dealing in Feelings Approach to Understanding Emotions
Understanding emotions is a skill that is an important part of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is related to many positive outcomes for children. It includes increased attention, improved behaviour, positive relationships and empathy towards others.
I developed the Dealing in Feelings approach to help children with their emotional development. It’s based on helping children learn four key skills.
Feel- Talk- Think -Practice
Feel involves recognising and noticing emotions in the body.
Talk is naming and expressing feelings.
Think is reflecting and connecting feelings to experiences.
Practice is learning positive ways to cope with feelings.
When kids are helped learn these skills, they are off to a great start!
As Seen In
Dealing in Feelings at Toy Showcase at ASTRA
It was exciting to have the Dealing in Feelings products showcased at the Toy Showcase at ASTRA’s first-ever international trade show, in June 2023 in Colombus Ohio. The event was a great opportunity for us to get our cards seen by US retailers, and we were lucky enough to have the support of the amazing Azhelle Wade from The Toy Coach.
The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is a big deal in the toy industry, and we were proud to be a part of it. Our MESH toys were featured, which stands for mental, emotional, and social health. These toys and games help children learn how to deal with strong emotions and tough experiences.
As parents and educators become more aware of the importance of these skills, there’s a growing demand for MESH toys and games. At Dealing in Feelings, we’re happy to be a part of this exciting development in the toy and game space.
If you want to learn more about our mission, be sure to listen to the podcast No 180 Trailblazing Toy Creators Share their Mission behind their brand on the Making It In The Toy Industry.
Podcast Feature
Library News!
Library News!
Feelings and Me selected for the Melton Library Story Walk!
It was very exciting to learn that Feelings and Me, had been selected by Melton City Libraries for their Summer Story Walk this year.
In this family event, the Melton Libraries choose a children’s picture book each summer, which is displayed around the local community to encourage parents and children to enjoy the outdoors. This year, it was Feelings and Me that was featured!
The 2023 Summer Story integrated Feelings and Me into Caroline Springs Lakeside Park and the Melton Botanical Gardens.
Charles Sturt Library
Henley Library Story Time is a delightful experience. Being invited to read at a library is always enjoyable, but there’s something extra special about doing so at your local library. This was at the very first reading of Feelings and Me and it was great fun!
We Support Trees For Life
Our products are paper-based and are produced using ethically sourced materials. We believe in the importance of giving back to our environment. A proportion of every product sold is donated to Trees For Life.