Helping Anxious Kids Feel Heard and Safe: Teaching Emotional Regulation Through Brain & Body Awareness
Tracks
MARQUIS ROOM - In-Person Only
| Monday, March 16, 2026 |
| 3:05 PM - 4:35 PM |
Overview
Anja Zimmermann - Calm Kidz Program
Presenter
Ms Anja Zimmermann
Child & Family Counsellor
Calm Kidz Program
Helping Anxious Kids Feel Heard and Safe: Teaching Emotional Regulation Through Brain & Body Awareness
Presentation Overview
Many anxious children are met with correction rather than connection—told to “calm down,” “stop overreacting,” or “just breathe”—without truly understanding what’s going on inside their minds and bodies. This session offers a playful, brain-based approach to supporting anxious children by making neuroscience simple, relatable, and empowering.
Grounded in Polyvagal Theory and child-centred counselling, this presentation explores how anxiety shows up in the body and why children often behave in seemingly irrational or reactive ways. We’ll introduce “Amy the Amygdala” and the “Thinking Brain” to illustrate what happens when the brain perceives danger—even when the child is safe—and how this impacts behaviour, focus, and connection.
Participants will learn how to help children recognise nervous system cues, build interoceptive awareness, and develop practical tools for self-regulation. We’ll discuss the importance of co-regulation and how adults can become a child’s external nervous system by offering safety through tone, posture, and presence. Emphasis will be placed on connection before correction, reframing “misbehaviour” as a message about unmet nervous system needs.
This session will include real-life case examples, child-friendly metaphors, and evidence-informed practices that therapists, educators, and parents can use to help anxious children feel seen, heard, and supported. Participants will walk away with a toolkit of simple strategies to use immediately in therapeutic and everyday settings.
By understanding the nervous system and communicating safety, we can shift from managing behaviours to building trust — and ultimately help children move from a state of alarm to a place of calm.
Three Key Learnings:
1. How to explain the brain and nervous system to children using simple, relatable language and metaphors, including the role of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
2. Why connection and co-regulation are more effective than correction when supporting anxious children, and how to recognise cues of nervous system dysregulation.
3. Practical strategies and tools that therapists, educators, and parents can use to help children feel safe, heard, and supported during moments of anxiety.
Grounded in Polyvagal Theory and child-centred counselling, this presentation explores how anxiety shows up in the body and why children often behave in seemingly irrational or reactive ways. We’ll introduce “Amy the Amygdala” and the “Thinking Brain” to illustrate what happens when the brain perceives danger—even when the child is safe—and how this impacts behaviour, focus, and connection.
Participants will learn how to help children recognise nervous system cues, build interoceptive awareness, and develop practical tools for self-regulation. We’ll discuss the importance of co-regulation and how adults can become a child’s external nervous system by offering safety through tone, posture, and presence. Emphasis will be placed on connection before correction, reframing “misbehaviour” as a message about unmet nervous system needs.
This session will include real-life case examples, child-friendly metaphors, and evidence-informed practices that therapists, educators, and parents can use to help anxious children feel seen, heard, and supported. Participants will walk away with a toolkit of simple strategies to use immediately in therapeutic and everyday settings.
By understanding the nervous system and communicating safety, we can shift from managing behaviours to building trust — and ultimately help children move from a state of alarm to a place of calm.
Three Key Learnings:
1. How to explain the brain and nervous system to children using simple, relatable language and metaphors, including the role of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
2. Why connection and co-regulation are more effective than correction when supporting anxious children, and how to recognise cues of nervous system dysregulation.
3. Practical strategies and tools that therapists, educators, and parents can use to help children feel safe, heard, and supported during moments of anxiety.
Biography
Anja Zimmermann is a dedicated Child and Family Counsellor with over 15 years of experience supporting children with anxiety, emotional regulation difficulties, ADHD, and neurodivergent needs. She is the founder of the Calm Kidz Program, a neuroaffirming, play-based counselling approach delivered in both schools and private settings. Anja is passionate about making brain science accessible to children, using metaphors, visual tools, and body-based strategies to help kids feel heard and understood. Her work integrates Polyvagal Theory, CBT, and play-based interventions, with a strong emphasis on connection over correction. Anja regularly presents at schools, conferences, and parent workshops, empowering families.
