If you're a parent, grandparent, aunt, or pretty much any person with ears - you've heard a nursery rhyme a time or two. They seem so simple, but do you know the importance of nursery rhymes for young children? You'd be surprised just how much brain development is happening as we repeat these repetitive rhymes. I'm going to break this down with not only the benefits of nursery rhymes, but also a list of nursery rhymes, how to make nursery rhymes more fun, and even some nursery rhymes activities to enjoy. Keep reading!

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Messy Little Monster

Each one of us experience anxiety and pressure at some point of time in our lives, and each one of us has developed a process to regulate and manage those emotions. Some of us, however, have trouble getting it under control, and feel overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety and stress more often than we’d like.






If that’s something you can relate to, here’s a bit of help coming your way. Read on to discover how you could put art to use to tackle those anxious feelings. For both children and adults art is a brilliant tool to use to tackle anxiety.

5 Ways to Use Art for Anxiety

Mandala Colouring

Colouring inside intricate mandalas has become a sensation today and it is a great way to tackle anxiety. The way this works is that colouring inside the lines require you to keep your attention focused on that particular activity, which can quickly turn your attention away from any negative and anxious feelings that you might be stuck with.

Some experts also suggest that the geometric patterns that mandalas make up tend to induce a gentle meditative state, which can be helpful in tackling stress.

Affirmation Cards

Creating, or even simply looking at affirmation cards can help you click into a more positive mental state. All you need to do is fill and decorate some blank cards with positive affirmations and quotes.


Some good examples could be:

• I am calm
• I’m peaceful
• I am smart
• Joy surrounds me
• I am unique
• The future is great
• I am loved
• Breathe!
• This is temporary
• I can achieve great things
• Life is wonderful!

Try painting the background behind the quotes on your affirmation cards with watercolour paint. The process of painting when there is no pressure to produce a predetermined outcome can really help you to relax. 

Worry Clouds

If you’re plagued by worrisome thoughts, creating a worry cloud can be an excellent way to get those worries under control. Start by drawing (or writing) your worries on a sheet of paper, and then envelop all of them in a cloud. Doing this physically helps you ‘assign’ all of your worries to the cloud, and after you’re done with that, you can transform the cloud into a more positive one by reshaping it, or having it go away by drawing wind beside your cloud.

Comfort Castle

Another excellent way to use art to tackle your anxiety is to draw yourself in your own personal castle of comfort. The best part about this is that your castle can be just the way you want it to be designed just for you! Add all the things that you love, think about your favourite colours, favourite items and even favourite people. Use drawings, cut out pictures from magazines or even add photographs. The next time your anxious feelings arise, you can sit down and imagine yourself in your comfort castle. This is also a great activity for discovering all the things that you have in your life to be grateful for. 

Draw your feelings

It’s amazing how thinking about what makes us feel happy and taking the time out to draw it or paint it can stop us worrying about things and think about the positives instead. Think about the things you really care about, things that make you feel good. Draw a heart shape and fill it with all those things that make your heart happy. Drawing and talking about these things helps you to reflect on what really makes you feel happy and what you value. You could repeat this activity with things that make you feel worried or anxious and then talk through your feelings. 

Gratitude Journal

Making a gratitude journal is a great way to escape the cycle of negative thinking and surround yourself with more positive feelings. If there’s a certain situation or aspect of your life that you’re anxious about, start by being grateful about the other side of that situation, even if it takes a certain amount of effort.

Doing this consistently can improve your outlook on life, and make you feel more optimistic and happy. And of course, cute and colourful (and happy) doodles all around the journal help!

These ways of using art to tackle anxiety are easy to implement and great for adults and children alike. We hope they help! 


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Messy Little Monster

You’ve tried timeouts and they just aren’t working, so now you’re looking for alternatives to time out. Parenting is really hard so I get it. We use timeout alternatives now and I’d like to share those with you.

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Messy Little Monster

With every news outlet and online platform discussing the coronavirus COVID-19, it’s no wonder more parents are concerned. Schools are closing all over the world, and some countries are in complete lockdown. This can be rather scary for any adult, which means it may be even scarier to kids. Today I’m sharing some tips to help you talk to your kids about the coronavirus.

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Messy Little Monster

Do you want to make bath time fun? With growing kids, bath time can actually be a huge struggle. And quite frankly, when you’re overwhelmed with the number of tasks you’ve got to do, and are dead tired by the end of the day, having your toddler throw a tantrum over his pre-bedtime bath is one of the last thing you need. To help you out with just that, here’s a little something. Read on to discover 7 super hacks that can make bath time a lot of fun for your little one.

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Messy Little Monster

Toddler feelings…. Oh boy can this be a hard phase to go through! Toddler emotions can be really hard to manage, understand, and cope with. Not only for them, but for us as well. In this post, I’ll be sharing some tips to make the emotions of a toddler a little easier.

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Messy Little Monster

Life with toddlers is never dull. Especially if you have a picky eater. Let’s face it, meal times with toddlers aren’t normally relaxing at the best of times. Today we have Dr Orlena, a pediatric doctor turned weight and health coach, discussing why toddlers are picky eaters and what parents can do about young children that are picky eaters.

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Messy Little Monster

Baby’s first year is such an exciting time! But often we worry about our baby and if they’re on track. Which is why I have put together this post outlining baby milestones month by month. Below you will find each major baby milestone for every month.

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Messy Little Monster

Follow our 5 top tips for creating the ultimate toddler bedtime routine! Ensuring that your toddler goes to bed on time and wakes up fresh and well-rested in the morning is so important and getting them to bed on time isn’t as tough as it can sometimes seem. Establishing a toddler bedtime routine is one of the keys to making things work, but if you’re confused about how to do it right, we’ve got you some top tips to help create the perfect bedtime routine for kids.

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Messy Little Monster

As a new parent, everyone wants to offer you parenting advice. We’ve all heard the warnings that cuddling your baby too much can cause harm, making them more needy and clingy. But I have good news for parents who just love to snuggle their baby! Holding your baby has HUGE long-term positive impacts on their health and well-being. So, the next time your know-it-all neighbour gives you advice, tell them about these four science-backed reasons to cuddle your baby more.

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Messy Little Monster

Are you struggling to get that fussy eater of yours to eat their food? We have some fun products that might make them start looking forward to mealtimes. When you make food fun, your kids won't even turn their nose up to that meatloaf dinner you have tried getting them to eat a million times before. Below you will find a list of products that will allow your child to have a fun time eating and help you to get your fussy eater to eat their food.

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Messy Little Monster

When you’re a parent it seems that your children’s needs will forever come before your own. While this is an admirable trait of most parents, it’s actually not something that we should be doing. You see, having “me time” is a vital part of being a good parent. We all need our own time away from the hustle and bustle of parenthood to catch a break. Today I’m going to show you 5 realistic ways to get “me time” when you’re a parent because let’s face it, we have to be creative about how we get time alone.

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Messy Little Monster

Toddler tantrums are probably one of the most challenging aspects of parenting young children, but totally developmentally normal . All toddlers have tantrums to some degree, they are part of life with a toddler! You can feel helpless, overwhelmed and clueless about how to best handle things when your little one is having a major meltdown. Keep reading to discover 5 reasons why those toddler tantrums can actually be good - as long as you’re able to keep things under control.

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Messy Little Monster

Have you ever felt like you're not connecting with your child as much as you would like? With the busy on-the-go lifestyles we all lead it’s far too easy to neglect the needs of connection with the people closest to us, our children. Children let you know they need you in all kinds of ways. It is easy to overlook that child who really doesn’t beg for attention or is content entertaining themselves. While your child may be easily entertained and isn’t screaming for attention, it’s still important to make sure time is made to really connect with your child. 

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Messy Little Monster

The lovely time of year that’s referred to as cold and flu season has arrived and with that comes the need to find ways to keep kids healthy during this difficult time of year. Having a sick child is no walk in the park, so help the kids avoid cold and flu with our top 5 tips for kids to stay healthy during cold and flu season. Whether you have a sick child who is too sick to move or you have one of those children who is sick but still acts like a hyperactive child who could easily make it to school and function regularly, these tips to get your kids healthy during cold and flu season will surely lead you forward to keep your kids healthier during the sickest time of year.

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Messy Little Monster

Deciding to move your baby into their own room is a big step! There are so many questions you may have about moving your baby from their cribb or your own bed into a bedroom of their own. What is the best age to move baby into their own room? Will  baby sleep better in their own room? What is the best sleeping enviroment for baby? These are just a few of the questions you may have. To get answers to some of the most asked questions about moving baby to their own room we have Lauren from Little Sleep Stars with us to give us her top tips! 

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Messy Little Monster