Beyond “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”: Why We Developed the Emotion Wizzy Dizzy
We’ve all seen it: a child is faced with a challenge—maybe it’s a mistake on a drawing, a tricky school task, or a daunting appointment—and suddenly, they’ve hit a wall. As adults, our instinct is often to say, “It’s okay, don’t worry, be happy!” or “Don’t be silly!”
But at Strength Heroes, we’ve spent 20 years watching how kids (and adults!) actually process mistakes and challenges. And what we’ve learned is that when things go wrong, happiness isn’t the goal—acceptance is because as we tell our kids: feelings and mistakes are okay. Feelings are how we learn but the problem with feelings and mistakes is they can make it harder to keep trying.
The “Spin” of Big Emotions
We developed the Emotion Wizzy Dizzy because that’s exactly what a big reaction feels like: a spin. Inspired by the well-known stages of emotional processing, we created a tactile tool that helps kids map out the rollercoaster they are on.
When a child is in their “stretch zone” and things don’t go to plan, they might spin through:
- Shock: “I didn’t even want to do this anyway.”
- Anger: “This is a stupid rule! I hate this!”
- Worry: “I can’t do it, everyone is looking at me.”
- Sadness: “I’m just not good at anything.”
Why Happy is not useful in a crisis
When you’re truly frustrated, being told to “be happy” feels like your feelings aren’t being heard. We teach kids that all emotions are normal. By using the Wizzy Dizzy, kids learn to name the “spin” they are in.
Once a feeling has a name, it loses its power to stop them. Instead of getting stuck in the “Angry” or “Sad” sections, they can use their BAT (Breathe, Admit, Think) to calm their bodies and move toward Acceptance—the place where they can say, “This is hard, but I can try.”
The BAT Connection: Once a child identifies their feelings, they can use their Calm Cards to help find their way back to “Calm.”
Our BAT helps kids calm down when they are on the Emotion Wizzy Dizzy
B is for Breathe – long slow breaths in and out to give us a DOSE of endorphins to calm us down.
A is for Admit – how am I feeling right now? “I am really frustrated cause I can not work this out” and “Where am I feeling this in my body?”
T is for Think – with a calmer mind we can think about our next move or how we can bounce forward.
Help your child navigate their next “big feeling” with confidence. Our Calm Cards and Calm Corner kit with our Emotion Wizzy Dizzy are designed to give kids the tools they need to find their way back to calm. Explore our range of Calm resources here.
