ABOUT 5 IN A BOAT BOOKS
I established 5 IN A BOAT BOOKS in October 2020, as a self-publishing company for Emotional Wellbeing books and resources for children. This family inspired company, specialises in promoting and supporting the emotional regulation of young people and uses the power of pictures and words to convey important messages in the world of emotional understanding.
This year, our capacity to self-regulate and co-regulate our emotions, has been under enormous pressure. The pandemic has led to many of us describing feelings of being “all at sea” and “trying to keep afloat” whilst trying to navigate our way through an unfamiliar, sea of emotions. Now, slowly, we are beginning to emerge from this turbulent journey towards the safety of the shore. However, whilst there is now a sense that brighter weather is on the horizon the weather remains unpredictable.
What we do now, regarding the support of children's emotional well-being, is critical. For us as a family, emerging out of third lockdown, feels like we're taking that first, tentative step out of our tent into the sunlight, after a raging Italian storm. There have been elements of our lives together at home that we have grown to love and cherish. However, there have been many aspects of this period, that have been incredibly testing.
Finding ways to support children to share and process their feelings, is key. Some of our children will have experienced a range of emotions which can sometimes feel unfamiliar and frightening. These unexpected feelings can be scary and the reassurance to know that these emotions are okay can be the first step to helping them make sense of how they feel.
From a positive standpoint, I believe that the periods of lockdown have afforded us the rare opportunity to SIT with our feelings for longer. In this fast paced world, it's all too easy to find a distraction to take us away from the more uncomfortable feelings we encounter during our lives. The lockdown has forced us to turn our focus inwards, towards our families, ourselves and what truly matters. As a result of this, I consider there has been the capacity for enormous growth in many areas of our lives. For me, this period has enabled me to find the space and time to consider my direction for the future and has motivated me to take a leap of faith and fulfil one of my dreams - to create books and resources to support children's emotional wellbeing.
I am passionate about supporting the mental health of children and, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, feel there couldn't be a more relevant time to be sharing my practice. I am extremely excited to be publishing my first children's picture book entitled 'TED, THE SEA, AND ME' this year and hope that this will be the first of many new adventures in this field. So, jump aboard our boat and enjoy the ride!
