What is Calmer Stories?

Calmer Stories is a programme which combines positive touch, mindful breathing, mindfulness activities and some yoga-inspired movements to help children calm and relax their minds and bodies.

Children are taught simple and gentle massage strokes they perform on each other over clothes, on the back, arms and sometimes the head, in a safe and consensual way. The strokes are accompanied by short stories, poems, or songs, telling the story while providing children with the benefits of positive touch.

The sessions also cover calming breathing techniques and mindfulness activities, giving children a greater understanding of their own ability to regulate their emotions, and helping them to achieve calm and wellbeing.

What are the benefits of Calmer Stories?

Peer-to-peer massage teaches children the benefits of positive touch, something we all innately need. Calmer Stories gives children the chance to receive and give positive touch to a friend, while learning moves they can teach you at home and you can carry out on you too.

There are so many benefits of positive touch for children, including:

• Increased feelings of being loved, respected and secure

• A potential to reduce tantrums and behavioural issues

• Better brain-body connection and awareness of their mind

• Increased ability to self-regulate and relax

• Improved sleep quality

• Socialisation with peers and improved friendships

• Increased confidence and self-esteem

• A greater understanding of consent and body autonomy.

Children will also learn mindfulness techniques each week, while also practicing communication and listening skills.

What are the stories about?

Each week, I’ll provide a story for our first massage activity. This will be something the children can understand and connect with, such as ‘A trip to the park’ or ‘Baking a cake’. It could also be a retelling of a story they will already know, such as a classic children’s story or fairytale, or a song or rhyme.

For our second massage activity, the children will contribute their own ideas and we’ll write the next story together. They may be inspired by something they’re learning in school, something they’ve done at the weekend, or something else from their imagination!

This also gives children the chance to write stories about things they may be anticipating or are worried about, such as ‘moving house’, ‘changing year groups’ or ‘a new baby’. In this way, we can write a story together exploring what these experiences might involve, the feelings we may have, and the exciting things to look forward to as well!

What if my child doesn’t want to be massaged?

That’s absolutely fine! Consent lies at the heart of Calmer Stories and is a key teaching principle. In fact, Calmer Stories gives children a chance to learn about consent in practice - a principle much-discussed these days, but something children don’t always have the opportunity to explicitly see in practice.

Before every massage activity, the child giving the massage has to ask permission to touch the child receiving the massage. If your child doesn’t want to be massaged that day, they don’t need to give their consent, but they can still take part by learning the strokes and carrying out the routine on a teddy or doll.

They can always bring the moves home and teach them to you, and then you can carry them out on them if they’d like! Calmer Stories is also wonderful for children and parents to share together.

What will my child need for each session?

Please provide a medium-sized teddy or doll for them to practise the moves on - large enough for their hands to carry out strokes on its back, but not so large they can’t fit it in their school bag! They can leave the teddy or doll in their bag all day and then bring it out for the club in the afternoon.

A small snack will be provided (raisins or a biscuit), but if your child needs something different to this, please also provide this. They will also need their water bottle for refreshment.

What should my child wear?

Children can stay in their school uniforms! It’s important for them to learn that mindfulness and peer-to-peer massage can be carried out in any place and at any time, and they don’t need any special clothes or equipment for it.

What qualifications do you have to run the group?

I’m a qualified and fully insured massage therapist, with a real interest in using massage and positive touch therapy to benefit families. In May 2025, I qualified as a Calmer Stories Instructor with To Baby and Beyond.

I am also a qualified teacher, and have over 15 years’ experience of working with children and young people as a teaching assistant in primary schools, a teacher at secondary and sixth form level, and more recently delivering outreach programmes to children and young people across Suffolk, Essex and London on behalf of the University of Essex. I have an Enhanced DBS check and extensive safeguarding experience.

I know the importance of designing engaging, fun and memorable sessions for children, alongside creating a welcoming atmosphere.

As a mum of two, I’ve massaged both of my children since they were babies, and have seen the first-hand benefits of the connection, calm and relaxation that Calmer Stories can bring to little ones.