When children are young their emotions come in peaks and valleys. Sometimes they’re super excited, sometimes they’re sad, and sometimes they lose control and express themselves by throwing a temper tantrum. These outbursts of emotions are common for parents and kids of all walks of life and can be leveraged by parents who want to teach impulse control, improved behavior, and better mindfulness. … mindfulness.
That’s why Matt’s swirly world was written to help parents understand the “why” behind a tantrum as well as what’s going on inside their child’s brain when they’re acting out, feeling scared, or reacting to stressful situations.
An adorable journey featuring a mother and her young son, this book is a great reminder about how all emotions are accepted and that proper behaviors can be learned by kids and taught by moms and dads. In fact, your love is the perfect space where emotions can be processed, expressed, and shared together.
In this book parents will learn how mindfulness helps kid’s create better coping skills, but also a variety of other useful tools, including:
- How love can be used to process emotions and support positive behaviors
- Why feelings of anger and frustration come and go and are non-threatening
- How a calm voice and demeanor can soothe a child and minimize meltdowns
- Providing children relief from stress, anxiety, or big feelings and emotions
- How children often mimic the behaviors of their mothers and fathers
- Moving forward and adapting to behavioral changes in the future
This is an opportunity to learn and grow as a parent while teaching your child valuable mindfulness and self-control skills they can use long into adulthood. And it should be the first book you read on tantrums, emotions, and how to inspire positive behaviors each and every day.
When you need help better understanding why your child feels or acts they way they do in times of crisis, or you just want to connect with them on a deeper level, learn more about temper tantrums and emotional control with Matt’s swirly world – Helping Parents Understand Tantrums to Create Mindful Kids.
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Its a cute book and its definitely a learning experience for kids. I do think for the mind of a 3-4 year old it needs to be explained a little bit better with why we take breaths to calm down. Its great in explaining HOW you take deep breaths and comparing it to a storm and waves but a 3-4 year old might not understand the context of a tornado or huge storm the way we do. They might know what they are but it might not click as easily or quickly when they are upset. Also, the text was really small. There was an error or 2 but not a huge deal. At least for me but when children are learning to read which is about this age group it should be corrected.
this was a very short story ! its about what a mother tells her child when they dont want leave the park. my grand kids would have loved to hear this story.
Matt’s Swirly World: Children’s Book by Madeleine Matthews
4 Stars
As a parent and now a grandparent, I read this through the first time by myself and I totally get the message being portrayed in this book and I appreciate the ideas given to help a child through these trying times. I then gave the book to my 9 year old grandson, my 10 year old grandson and my 9 year old granddaughter. They had a bit of trouble reading it and tripped over many words losing the meaning along the way. I can not imagine trying to read this to a 3 – 5 year old and them getting anything out of it besides liking the pictures.
The message was clear and using the tools that were included in the story are great and the parent can figure out how to implement them to make the child understand. As a children’s book the pictures were awesome but the story got a bit lost even with the older ones.
Great book for the adult who needs new ways to handle these situations.
A great little story on how to deal with anger and disappointment for children. My daughter enjoyed the story and we can definitely relate.
Matt’s Swirly World: Children’s Book by Madeleine Matthews was a cute and quick read with my son. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. It was well illustrated and it was a book I could see myself pulling out again and again. My son loved to look at the pictures and help me scroll and count. While at 1.5 years old he will not get the lesson, I hope over time he will learn to see new drops of wisdom.
Excellent book to help children be mindful of emotions they may be feeling.
My daughter (she’s 6) she read this and enjoyed reading and doing some of the activities at the end of the book. This book deals with emotions (anxiety and stress) we’ve been trying to get my daughter to understand and express in different ways.
If I had any complaint about the book it would be I wish the text was a bit darker. There were some pages my daughter couldn’t completely read and see the words because they were too light for her. But beyond that excellent book and illustrations!
Matt’s Swirly World: Children’s Book by Madeleine Matthews
4 stars
While this book is to be geared towards children, my 6 year old lost the message the first read through, so when I read it again I changed some words to her level and it went better.
Everyone deals with anger differently but it is a feeling all feel at one point or another so having steps to help in a way children can comprehend is great.
Loved the illustrations.
Matt’s Swirly World by Madeleine Matthews is the perfect portrayal of the stages kids go through and how, as a parent, understanding these stages better equips you to deal with them.
I was unsure at first as to whether or not I should try this book. My little one is younger than the recommended age for children but as a parent I was drawn to the teachings it alluded to. So, slightly dubious, I decided I would give it a try.
My initial thoughts were that my little one definitely would not understand this, and actually even by the age of 3 I would still question if their level of understanding would be developed enough. For me it is perfect for kids of school age, who are going through a lot emotionally in terms of development.
However, as a parent this book hit every aspect. Although my little one might not understand it, I can still see how she is going through these emotions. It helped to conceptualise what she might be going through and brought me a whole new level of understanding on how to deal with. I am so glad that I gave this book the benefit of the doubt and it is one that I will definitely shelve for later when I know my little one will benefit from us reading it together.
Matt’s Swirly World is a beautifully illustrated short story designed to help parents deal with children’s behavioral issues in a healthy way. I think the illustrations will draw children’s attention and give parents a few talking points with their children. I don’t quite think the wording will hold the attention of the younger age range this book was written for, but their parents will understand and use the language to explain what is going on throughout the book. The use of dragons to teach breathing techniques is extremely smart. And I love the game of counting cars to engage the child in something fun and constructive.
Matt’s swirly world: Children’s Book Helping Parents Raise Mindful Kids, Understand Tantrums and Relieve Stress, Anxiety by Madeleine Matthews is a book for children and their parents. Matt is having a rough day when it is time to leave the playground. His mom comes up with ways to help him instead of a temper tantrum. This is a good book for parents and children to read together to open up the conversation about getting angry and disappointment. I will reading this to the nieces and nephews to help them understand their feelings.
This quick read is simply a gem. I was so glad it found its way into my hands. I wanted to read it first before sharing with my kids to see how it was written. I simply loved it. Simple yet profound, Matthews does a beautiful job navigating through childhood emotions. I cannot wait to add this book to my reading time with my daughters.
5 Star
Matt’s Swirly World: Children’s Book by Madeleine Matthews ,I read this multiple times to my 18 month old son and my 6 year old nephew and each time my nephew says” his mom did what my mom does” I loved that he connected with a character. As for my son he’s still a bit little but he loves books so he liked the “story” .I love the message this story teaches children. I love,love the illustrations such z beautiful job. I think we can all take away from this story ,We all need to take deep breath and calm ourselves from time to time. I definitely loved that Matt’s mom showed patience as well. I definitely recommend this to anyone with children 3-5 and up.
Matt’s Swirly World by Madeleine Matthews is a good resource for parents. Madeleine Matthews did an amazing job coaching parents through some tight situations. The story is for kids but it is a great story for parents and caregivers to try to use other methods to calm the behaviors of the child. This story is a great story to aloud to the child and show the pictures. The story is engaging and the pictures are wonderful and great talking points of what happening to Matt and how to deal with the Matt’s behaviors. I highly recommend this book to everyone and anyone who deals with children.
Matt’s Swirly World: Children’s Book by Madeleine Matthews is a book to be shared by parents with their children. It is also a book for parents to help them traverse the pitfalls of tempers and tantrums. The book is beautifully illustrated and Madeleine has a good concept in theory. Unfortunately the story is a little to much for younger kids to take in. I read this to my friends little boy, and he loved the pictures but the story got lost in translation and he lost interest half way through. We all know that all young kids want is something short sharp and shiny. An adult reading it is one thing but I think it needs revising to hit it’s intended audience.
3 Stars
Matt’s Swirly World by Madeleine Matthews lept out at me when it showed up on my recommended book feed, as I have a three year old in my life who I am always on the lookout for great picture books for. I thought the title was catchy and the cover was cute- so I grabbed a copy and couldn’t wait to read it to him.
When we opened the book, I was impressed with the beautiful and colourful illustrations which just lept off the pages. Jack thought they were great too. He was pointing out the slide, the balloons, butterflies, children, rainbow, dragon, cars, and waves etc- and was really excited about the pictures. But, the story was very wordy and way over his head. I think it would be more suited to 8 to 10 year olds. So, I went back to the blurb to see what I could make of it- and found a rather long and wordy explanation for the book.
This book was written as a guide to help parents teach their young ones about mindfulness and self-control- using love and understanding to help guide them through stressful times. While I love the concept behind the book- the execution, for me, missed the mark. As a children’s picture book, “Matt’s Swirly World” really needs to be simplified more so that the younger children can engage and understand. Because a three year old is a ripe candidate for tantrums and/or emotional meltdowns- but this book is way to complicated to really engage him/them properly. An older child would better understand the story.
Love the pictures, love the concept- but the ‘story’ left us wanting.
Thank you, Ms. Matthews.
“In this book parents will learn how mindfulness helps kid’s create better coping skills, but also a variety of other useful tools”
While this is illustrated with beautiful illustrations and the message is told in a “child like” tone, I’m not sure who the audience is supposed to be. It seems as if it is geared towards a young babysitter to explain why the youngster in their care is having a meltdown.
Great visualization exercises that I think everyone could learn from.
Matt’s Swirly World: Children’s Book by Madeleine Matthews
4-Stars
Matt’s Swirly World: Children’s Book by Madeleine Matthews was a cute children’s book that helps teach a lesson on emotions and mindfulness. I loved the illustrations in this book and the bright colors. My son loved it too and really liked the Dragon. It had a wonderful way of teaching mindfulness to children but would require some help from an adult to help explain it more. Very cute and creative though!
I loved this book! This is a children’s book that is creative and engaging. I read this story to a couple of smaller children. They were engaged and loved the pictures that go with the story. They could follow the story easily. I would not hesitate to read this book to other children. It is a great tool that will help children understand emotions and having those emotions are okay. It brings the subject down to a child’s perception so they can understand it. I highly recommend this book
This was an amazing book! It is very helpful for parents who have “stubborn” munchkins! I recommend this for anyone dealing with a child with a mind of their own!
A good concept but a bit confusing as to who it is aimed it. Most really young children wouldn’t understand as some of the language would be too advanced, maybe 7-9 yr olds but again not sure. The illustrating is fab.